Chapter 19
Leon slammed hard into the ground, landing flat on his back. The wind was knocked from his lungs with a whoosh and he gasped for breath like a drowning man, rolling onto his side and curling into the fetal position. Above him, the twisted monster shrieked victoriously and ran off in a rush, leaving Leon lying on his side, sucking in breath and trying to regain his strength, blackness edging his vision.
He managed to glance back up to the ledge he fell from, and through the pain in his chest and in his head, he realized in disbelief that he only fell about fifteen feet down. He lay on a wooden walkway that extended below the main concrete section. He didn’t even notice the ladder leading down the shaft, and only by sheer, stupid luck did he manage to land on the narrow catwalk instead of falling all the way down to the bottom. Another few feet to his left, and he would have plummeted to his death.
He got onto his hands and knees and crawled to the ladder, intending to climb back up and try to track down Claire and Sherry, who had to be looking for him by now. He had to warn them about the creature, if he wasn’t already too late.
Down at the bottom of the shaft, he saw Annette’s body lying motionless, her white shirt sticking out against the dark shaft floor. Leon’s gun was also down there, having flown out of his hand when he went over the railing.
As he reached the ladder, he knew that he couldn’t just leave her down there. He had to check on her, even though he knew she must be dead. The monster’s vicious blow alone might have been enough to kill her, but then she fell all the way down the 40-foot pit. She was dead, she had to be. But against all logic, Leon resigned himself and went down to check.
He descended the ladder and reached the bottom of the shaft. It was strewn with garbage and leftover construction materials. The workers apparently just threw their refuse down there; the shaft floor was covered in scraps of sodden cardboard, broken wooden pallets, plastic sheets, and trash like food wrappers and soda cans. It stunk of mold and garbage, and Leon’s feet slipped on the grimy cardboard.
He found his gun and stuck it in his back pocket, and looked a few feet away at Annette’s sprawled, crooked body.
Annette was on her back, her body twisted at an unnatural angle, one of her legs folded underneath her. But as Leon stepped closer, he was stunned to see her chest moving almost imperceptibly and her eyes flutter open.
“My god,” he whispered, kneeling down beside her. He reached out, but knew there was nothing that he could do. It was a miracle she was still alive, but her body was broken. She would not last long like this.
Annette opened her mouth and blood poured out, dripping down the side of her face. She gazed blankly up at Leon and whispered, “... can’t feel ... my legs ...”
“Don’t talk,” Leon said softly, shaking his head sadly.
“ ... Where ... did he go ...?”
“Who? You mean that creature? It’s gone, I don’t know where it went.”
“ ... my husband ... came back ... wanted him to ...”
Leon very gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She was clearly hallucinating, and her whispered stream of consciousness dialogue went on for a few moments.
“I can’t help you,” Leon said, leaning close. “I’m so sorry, but there’s nothing I can do.” He watched as Annette’s eyes focused on his own face, and some remnant of clarity returned.
“ ... my daughter ... name is Sherry ...”
“What? Your daughter’s name is Sherry?” Leon asked in disbelief.
“ ... yes ...”
“She’s alive!” Leon blurted out. “The little girl I told you about, her name is Sherry. She said her parents worked for Umbrella, but I had no idea.” Then, as if to prove to Annette that he was telling the truth, he said, “She’s about ten years old. Blonde hair. She’s wearing a school uniform.”
Annette moved her mouth in a whisper but nothing came out, and she closed her eyes in a silent expression of sadness. She blinked as tears leaked down her face, and gasped softly, whispering, “... please save her ... don’t let ... father find her ...”
“I don’t understand, who’s her father?”
“ ... he’s here ... the creature did this ... to me ...”
“You mean ...” Leon said slowly. “That creature up there? That thing was your husband? It’s Sherry’s father?”
“ ... yes ... they tried to ... kill him ... but he took the virus ... changed him ...”
“Jesus Christ,” Leon whispered.
“ ... don’t tell her ... don’t want her ... to know the truth ...”
“I won’t tell her. I promise,” Leon said.
“ ... save her ... please ...”
Annette stared up at him and breathed for the last time. One final tear went down the side of her face, slid under her chin, and dripped onto the filthy floor. Leon reached down and closed her eyes. He only understood a fraction of what she said to him, but what little he understood was more than enough to send a chill down his spine. Now he knew why she wanted to stay here, and why she didn’t try to run from the creature. She was waiting for it to return, waiting for her husband to come back to her.
Leon stood up and hurried over to the ladder. He felt a surge of energy, Annette’s final plea echoing in his mind, and went up the ladder quickly, reaching the concrete walkway and instantly heading back down the hall. The pain in his back and the throbbing pain in his head were all forgotten as a new urgency directed him.
He was on a mission now. He had to find Claire and Sherry before the creature found them. He had to find them before Sherry’s father did.