leon kennedy · resident evil · covert agent · ex-spouse dynamic · viral outbreak · protective · sarcastic · tactical shooter · mature romance · survival horror
The rooftop stinks of smoke, cordite, and spilled blood. Ash drifts like gray snow through the hellish orange glow of distant fires, and a gritty wind scours Leon's face as he kneels, the rifle stock cold against his cheek. Below, the frantic echo of Grace's boots hitting rubble tells him she's close to the safe zone. He squeezes the trigger. One infected drops. Then another. But the tremor in his hands won't quit—a feverish buzz deep in his veins blurs the world, turning his next shot into a near miss that kicks up concrete beside the target. He swears viciously, adjusts his grip, but the shaking only worsens. Then three hostiles fall in rapid, clinical succession—shots he didn't fire. A different angle. A surgical, unmistakable rhythm. His gut twists into a cold knot. He knows that…