Chapter Text
Despicable sound of raven’s screeches echoed in the air, the chilling autumn zephyr gently swayed the leaves of trees and bushes alike. Naked branches raked into one another; their lifeless arms reached out to the dirt path. The thin sheet of brown and yellow hued leaves softly crunched in equal intervals beneath the hesitant steps of the two agents. Unease seeped into their clenched hearts; dozens of eyes watched their every move as they followed the trail, unaware of where it was leading. Flapping of wings caused (Y/N) to curse beneath her breath as the ominous birds flew into the dark skies and out of sight. Though that was no cause for relief, for sense of unease only grew stronger once the two of them reached a tall wooden gate.
Her partner- Leon came before her; briefly, he glanced at her before his hand pressed against the gate. A glint of reassuring warmth beamed in his lazuline eyes. The agents readied their weapons as the doors fully opened. Swiftly, the two took cover; she took out her binoculars, wasting no time to study their surroundings up close. Steadily, she moved the device accordingly to where her gaze was going.
Numerous, akin to huts, houses surrounded what appeared to be the town square amidst of which flames danced high in the sky. She noted villagers that were seemingly busy engaging in their shenanigans; chatter and screaming echoed in the air. Her gaze fell in the very middle of the horizon. Her breath hitched; her eyes squinted harder as she made sure what she was seeing wasn’t an illusion. Yet a final horrific cry proved all her hopes were nothing but mere delusions.
Warmth of familiar touch shook her out of the terror she was unfortunate enough to witness; instead, the agent’s attention was anchored to her partner. His lips pressed together into a sorry look; he didn’t need a closer look to know what happened.
“So, what’s the tactic?” His words served as a reminder of the reality of their situation; she peeled her eyes away from his, glancing at the village once again.
“There’s a lot of them and they’re everywhere. We could try and bait them and take them out a few at a time.” Her voice was low and reluctant, her eyes still glued to the non-suspecting locals; her brows were knitted together in a thoughtful frown.
“Sounds like a solid plan.”
Not wasting a second longer, the two moved together, taking cover behind one of the houses. With their guns in the air, they slowly approached their first target: a lady too busy raking hay to notice Leon creeping up behind her with his knife secured in his steady grip. On the other side, his partner kept an eye out for any villager that could intrude. In one swift motion, the knife pierced the woman’s neck, deterring all and any attempts of defense.
“One down.” Leon rose to his feet all the while he kept an eye on the lifeless villager; his ears barely caught a quiet- yet distinct- screech resonating from the limp body.
“Dozens more to go.” (Y/N) came up to him, noting the ashy hues of the woman’s skin; dark veins covered her face, akin to raven spiderwebs.
Angry shouts took the two agents by surprise; quickly, they pointed their guns to the source of the sound only to notice a group of villagers running towards them. Axes and sickles flew in the air, all miraculously missing the two unwelcome guests that managed to run away. Shortly, their steps came to a halt; they found themselves cornered by even more hostiles. Numerous sets of crimson eyes glared at the two newcomers as if they were prey; the circle of townsfolk tightened at a rapid speed. (Y/N) held onto her gun firing at them, but it was no use- there were too many.
“Here!” Leon shouted, his head gesturing to an opened door. She ran in with him coming in shortly after; noting a cabinet near the passage, the two wordlessly agreed on barricading the door. Rattling of a chainsaw overpowered the hideous orchestra of wrathful yells; Leon peaked through a hole that must’ve been a poor adaptation of window.
“Great. A chainsaw.” He confirmed her fears; his gaze met hers for a split second, the fearful glint woven in his icy irises told her all she needed to know. Splinters exploded from the door as the blade of the chainsaw tore through the solid wood. That was their cue to flee upstairs where Leon saw a shotgun displayed at the very top of the staircase, to the right was a cabinet with a single grenade laying on one of the shelves. Thudding came from a window opposite of them but it was soon followed by shattering of the glass; a ladder appeared at the window with villagers climbing in the room. With no hesitation, the two took the found weaponry and barely escaped the arms of an enraged farmer. Though they were no near out of danger’s way.
On the top of the roof, they had a good view of the area as well as all of the locals that were scattered around it, all coming in their direction akin to a wave of single-minded organism with a single objective. The chainsaw villager reminded the two of his presence with the sound of rattling only growing unnervingly louder the longer they stood in one place. (Y/N) lingered behind her partner for a moment longer, taking a look at threat. A dirty brown sack was covering his face, two holes- meant for his eyes- revealed crimson disks, flaming with utter fury. The hairs on her back rose, her breath hitched before she followed her colleague and jumped down. The swarm of infected soon followed, persisting in chasing them. Briefly, Leon looked back, ignoring the number of villagers once his gaze fell met with the one of his partners.
“This is gonna be bright!” He warned before he took out a flash grenade and threw it in the direction of the man with the chainsaw. Ringing pierced her ears in result of the blow, yet she overcame the discomfort as she had grown used to it. Instead, she took advantage of the opportunity to take out as many stunned hostiles as possible. Her knife swung back and forth from one’s throat to others temple; splatters of blood gushed from the fallen, their bodies piled on the ground.
Gunshots resonated amidst the chaos, anchoring her attention to the source of the sound. Shot after shot, Leon kept shooting at the man with the chainsaw, yet to no avail. The man would only scream maniacally, before swinging his chainsaw at the agent. The gunshots stopped; (Y/N)’s heart clenched at the sight. Leon was out of ammo. Accordingly to the situation, he opted to flee until an unforeseen obstacle caused him to trip. A thud echoed in his head as he fell to the ground hard, the clatter of the chainsaw grew louder. Sound of gunshots overpowered the one of the chainsaw as his partner opened fire at the hostile man, relentlessly shooting at him. The man shrieked in pain; his arm reached for his head as he lost balance though not for long. Unfortunately for the two agents, he regained his footing and lifted his weapon not long after.
Ring of a bell echoed from the distance; all of the villagers froze, letting go of their weapons. All of them gazed in the same direction; akin to ghostly spirits, they made their way to a single building before disappearing behind its door.
“Where’s everyone going? Bingo?” Leon shrugged; she scoffed at his cheeky comment.
“Let’s be grateful we got rid of them. For now.” (Y/N) gave him a serious look, she meant business and Leon knew better than to get on her nerves. She walked up to the mysterious house they all went to; a metal door stood in the passage, to no surprise it was locked. Yet there was something else that piqued her interest: a symbol that stood in the very middle of the door.
Beeping sound tingled her still ringing ears- it was Hunnigan. Although brief, the transmission was very insightful; with a given destination, all that was left for the agents is to find the way to the windmill. The two circled the village in search for a door, a passage, any way to get to the lake where the president’s daughter may be held captive. Doing so, (Y/N)’s glance fell on their remains. Their faces -depraved of their humanity even before their brutal deaths- appeared violent in death as they were in life; their violent screams still echoed in her ears, the image of their flaming rogue eyes was permanently imprinted in her mind. The flames at the middle of the village were still dancing in the sky, fully engulfing the remains of the police officer that was unlucky enough to escort the two agents. Taking a last look at his body, she couldn’t help but think how he was alive not so long ago, yet it felt like it’s been ages since then.
“Hey! Take a look at this.” Leon called out her name, drawing attention away from the horrendous picture. Following him into a tiny hut, she was puzzled at the sight of him looking at a sheet of paper.
“It’s pictures of you and me. They knew about us.” Despite his seriousness, she couldn’t hold back a tiny chuckle at the picture of him walking down a street, clueless that he’s been photographed. As chilling as it was, she found the pictures to be rather comedic.
“Maybe they should’ve hired a better photographer. I’ve seen better photos of you.” She shot him with an innocent smile as she handed him back the paper. He clicked his mouth in disagreement; the look of offence on his face was a tad bit funnier than the stalker photos as he took another look at them.
“Anyway.” He began, throwing the pictures away. “I think I found a passage.” The modest smile grew into a grin as she watched him enthusiastically lead the way to a big gate. He let out a quiet grunt as he pushed on the solid wood. A farming area was revealed behind the wooden doors; there were two big barns, one housed animals all the while the other acted as a storage. A massive windmill towered the other two buildings. As it had become a pattern in this forsaken place, there were more villagers, seemingly minding their business until they took a notice of the agents. And in the blink of an eye, they would leave whatever task they were dealing with only to mindlessly chase the two as if their brains were rewired the second they laid their eyes on an outsider. With no other way forward, the two had no other choice but to neutralize all the hostiles that came their way.
Once again silence had settled upon them; the autumn zephyr gently swayed (Y/N)’s hair. Chills ran down her spine beneath the cool caress of the breeze, causing her to seek warmth in the embrace of her own arms though to no avail. The constant shivering of her form made it impossible for Leon to stay indifferent to.
Sudden warmth enveloped her freezing form along with the familiar scent of cologne that immediately sparked something within her chest. Her puzzled gaze searched her partner’s.
“Leon, you shouldn’t-“
“You need it more than me, plus it looks better on you.” She fell silent with her lips slightly parted; it appeared he was right as comforting warmth settled in her core that soon spread to her cheeks.
“And they say chivalry is dead.” She commented in a rather snarky, yet playful, manner; her partner only gave her an endearing grin, which in return made it hard for her not to smile back at him. Still, she managed to only let out a content sigh that was followed by a deep inhale of his intoxicating cologne- he had indisputable taste that she couldn’t deny.
Soft creaks of wood rubbing against rope resonated beneath their feet. The vanes of the windmill lazily circled, composing its uniquely distinct melody that grew weaker the further they walked. Bright, golden beams of the setting sun fell on the bridge akin to an arrow, formed by the cleft nestled between two massive rocks. A stony path- of what once must’ve been a lively river- trailed underneath the bridge; a grandiose cabin awaited at very end. It’s exterior, despite being in poor condition, was far more pretentious than any of the other houses the two had seen so far; still the mystery, surrounding this eminent residence was contained by securely shut gates. Yet another secret that perhaps is better to be left unsolved.
Intense sweet odor soon caught the attention of the agents to a wagon, filled with the remains of livestock; flies orbited around the feast that was the rotting flesh. Leon grunted as he tackled the nasty job of moving the cart away; (Y/N) stood behind, silently gagging on both the unpleasant sight and smell. A wave of fresh air tingled her nose once that unspeakable atrocity was out of the way; a crumbling stone arch revealed a cobblestone path.
“Ladies first.” His hand gestured towards the path to which she only scoffed, but took the lead; with her trusted gun in hand, she walked across the small cobble bridge all the while she took her time taking in the immense beauty of the sylvan outskirts of the village. Branches of trees and bushes alike reached out to the faint dirt path; puffy clouds of mist seeped across the ground akin to a featherlight blanket. The picturesque views almost made her think she was on a peaceful hike rather than a serious federal mission. Much to her dismay, it didn’t take long for her to be reminded of it.
The sound of Leon shouting her name was followed by a strong blast of stone crumbling to the ground; in the nick of time strong force pulled her to the side before she could’ve been crushed by the falling boulder. A pair of toned arms had wrapped around her form; her gaze met with one of her partner, their pants tangled in puffs of hot air that swirled together. Abrupt screams caused the two to detangle from one another just as quickly; clacking of iron echoed as axes came flying down from a wooden bridge right above the agents. With a single precise shot from each of them, the two villagers fell to their deaths; yet their places were soon taken by even more enraged locals that came running towards the outsiders. The frantic screaming came to a halt as soon as the last villager was taken out; eerie silence soon followed.
Ahead was a gaping tunnel, so dark one would think it was nothing but a mere hole that could swallow anyone brave enough to cross its entrance. Brave were the hearts of the agents, who stepped into the gloom even though all of their senses shouted at them not to. The delicate whistles of the autumn breeze grew into a howling wind the further the two proceeded in the tunnel; bats snappishly squeaked at the bright lights of flashlights, almost crashing into the faces of the agents. Sticking close to one another, they found themselves in yet another suburban area; a new wave of hostiles awaited them but this time they had planned a warmer welcome. Blast echoed, the blood of an unlucky villager- who had fallen a victim of friendly fire- splashed in all directions; wasting no time, the agents took cover in the tunnel, safely taking out the hostiles until there were none left.
“Clear.” (Y/N) confirmed as she moved forward all the while she had an eye out for a stealthy villager or even strategically placed beartraps that may take them by surprise. Having checked most of the perimeter, they found themselves before yet another house. Much like the structures in the previous parts of the village, the exterior was in just as poor of a condition as was the interior. A bunch of holes gaped on top of the roof, while its windows –although undamaged- were coated with thick layers of dust. Inside, dust particles swayed in the air much like snowflakes, the gray flooring creaked under their feet; lonely piece of furniture sat in the rooms, serving as a memory of long-lost traces of humanity. Continuous thudding sound came from the neighboring room, in which they saw yet another local, screwing planks to the ground. Not being much of a great threat, he was soon taken out, yet a similar sound still resonated from the ground. Tearing the planks off, Leon opened a passage to what appeared to be a basement.
Going in first, (Y/N)’s assumptions were proven correct as she noted numerous barrels and other farming tools splattered across the space; she kept her flashlight high in the air as so she did her gun all the while carefully proceeding. The sound only grew louder until she noted a dirty brown sack, shaking violently; chills ran down her spine. Gently, Leon pushed her to the side as he knelt and loosened the knot of the sack; a face of a man was revealed.
“I’ve got one very important question. You got a smoke.” His sparkling blue eyes were locked on her partner in hopeful expectation.
“You know these things will kill you.” His gaze then shifted towards (Y/N); all traces of delight abruptly vanished from his features and instead he cursed. Before she could react, she felt the flow of air being violently cut off as she was lifted off the ground. Helplessly, her feet swung back and forth, unable to even see the face of her attacker let alone inflict any critical damage; barely, she made out the bangs of gunshots and her name being shouted before every sound clashed into one incoherent cacophony that soon faded into nothingness. Her eyelids grew heavy, darkness engulfed her vision.