Chapter Text
I’ve cross-posted this fic on Tumblr, here is the link.
Leon seemed much calmer than Bryan would’ve expected from someone who’d just witnessed a car crash, watched a woman who looked nothing like a human being charge straight at him and been forced to shoot her.
At least compared to Bryan, who’d nearly pissed himself and screamed his lungs out in sheer terror the first time he experienced something similar (and honestly, every time since), Leon was remarkably composed.
Considering Leon was even younger than him, Bryan couldn’t help but admire the rookie’s ability to keep his cool. If Bryan could manage even a fraction of that composure, maybe he wouldn’t look so utterly pathetic all the time.
But was Leon really not afraid?
Bryan quietly studied him. The overturned cruiser’s headlights cast a dim glow across the snow, illuminating Leon’s face from below. His expression seemed composed at first glance, but when Bryan looked closer, he caught a faint tremor in those icy blue eyes. Leon’s hands were shaking, too, his fingers wrapped tightly around the gun as though he needed something solid to hold on to.
The signs were so subtle and fleeting that Bryan almost dismissed them as tricks of the light. But no, he knew what he’d seen.
Leon was scared. He was just doing a damn good job of hiding it.
Bryan decided against offering any more words of comfort. He was absolutely terrible at comforting people, and there was a very real chance he’d blurt out something stupid and make the whole situation even worse.
Besides, he could tell the young rookie was doing his best to regain his composure, the fact that he was managing at all after everything that just happened was impressive enough. The last thing Bryan wanted was to make him feel awkward by asking too many questions or fussing over him like a worried parent.
So instead, Bryan simply tightened his grip on Leon’s other hand, just a little.
Bryan’s own fingers were cold and he was still trembling from head to toe. He could hardly pretend to be a reassuring presence when he was barely holding himself together. Still, he hoped the small gesture might offer Leon some warmth, or at least remind him that he wasn’t alone out here.
Surprisingly, it seemed to help. As they stood together in the bitter cold, Bryan felt the tension slowly ease from Leon’s shoulders. The rookie’s grip on his hand relaxed, too, though he didn’t let go.
Bryan guided Leon toward the police cruiser parked farther down the road, eager to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the horrific mess behind them.
Honestly, Bryan wanted to fire a few more rounds into the woman just to make absolutely sure she stayed down. But first, he doubted Leon would appreciate being asked to shoot a seemingly dead body a few more times right now. Second, Bryan wasn’t sure he could bring himself to do it. He was too busy worrying about Leon, and his hands were shaking so badly that he could barely keep them steady, let alone aim a gun.
“This isn’t what I pictured my first day on the job looking like…” Leon muttered as he retrieved his jacket from the back of the car and slipped it on.
The adrenaline from the sudden chaos was beginning to wear off, leaving him increasingly aware of the bitter cold. He zipped up his jacket and rubbed his hands together, his breath forming little clouds of white mist in the frigid air.
It was more than enough “excitement” for a first day. If Bryan ever experienced something like this on his first day at work, he’d quit on the spot and spend the rest of his life terrified of the entire profession.
“And what the Hell was wrong with that woman?” Leon sighed, dragging a hand through his hair, “I don’t know. Maybe you were right, Bryan. Zombies. And bringing her along was a mistake.”
Officer Wilson was dead.
Standing beside Leon, Bryan opened his mouth, only to close it again without saying a word. He tried several times before finally managing to force something out.
“Hey, this wasn’t your fault. You thought she was just an ordinary civilian. Anyone with a conscience would’ve done the same thing.”
Bryan hesitated, his gaze drifting toward the overturned cruiser in the distance. The wreckage looked even more dreadful beneath the dim headlights, the sight made his stomach twist.
“Officer Wilson…” Bryan bit his lower lip, struggling to keep his voice steady, “I’m sorry about him.”
There was nothing he could do to change what happened, even though he’d known it was coming.
Bryan felt utterly useless. He should’ve been able to save that man. Instead, all he’d done was panic, tremble and stand there with his mind completely blank, unable to come up with a single solution. He’d frozen in place, waiting for whatever fucked-up shit fate decided to throw at him next, too frightened to do anything but brace for the impact.
If only he were more like Leon… If someone as level-headed as Leon were given the same seemingly endless chances to come back to life, surely things would turn out differently. Leon would learn from his mistakes, figure out how to prevent the worst from happening and eventually find a way to save everyone.
Leon had finally managed to pull himself together. He let out a slow breath, watching the white mist drift from his lips before the wind scattered it into the darkness. His gaze fell on Bryan, who stood beside him with hunched shoulders, visibly shaken despite his attempts to offer comfort.
A faint crease formed between Leon’s brows.
He was a police officer. He was supposed to be the one reassuring Bryan, not the other way around.
“It’s freezing out here, you should go sit in the car.” Leon urged Bryan toward the vehicle when he noticed him tugging his beanie lower to cover his ears, which were practically numb from the cold, “I’ll drop you off at the hospital first.”
“What about you?” Bryan asked, raising an eyebrow as he approached the passenger door.
“I’m going to the police station. Too much has happened, and I can’t get through to anyone.” Leon glanced at the radio clipped to his uniform, his brows furrowing.
A growing sense of unease gnawed at him. Something was wrong with the city. He couldn’t explain why, but the silence from dispatch only made his suspicions worse.
Going into Raccoon City would be even more dangerous, but delivering the cure to those scientists was Bryan’s first mission. More importantly, he also needed to keep Leon alive, splitting up was definitely not an option.
Bryan had watched enough horror movies to know exactly how this usually went. The moment a group of characters decided to separate, someone was practically guaranteed to end up dead. Sometimes, he wondered if the characters in those movies had ever heard of the concept of sticking together.
Bryan was just about to voice his concerns when his eyes suddenly widened.
A figure was rushing toward Leon from behind.
Bryan barely had time to register what he was seeing before he shouted, “Leon, behind you!!”
Leon reacted almost immediately. He had no idea what was coming at him, but he trusted Bryan’s warning and quickly threw himself to the side.
A split second later, something slammed into the car door Leon was about to open. The impact rang out through the quiet road.
It was the woman he’d just shot.
Leon didn’t have time to question how she was still alive. She was already lunging at him again, her mouth stretched unnaturally wide. Blood coated her face and fresh streams trickled from the bullet hole in her forehead, running down her nose and dripping from her chin.
Leon immediately raised his gun again. This time, he didn’t hesitate, he was ready for her now, and both shots found their mark.
The woman collapsed onto the snow once more, her body crumpling at Leon’s feet.
Leon didn’t fire again, ammunition was limited and he wasn’t about to waste bullets when he might need every last one to survive.
Even so, he kept his gun trained on her, his arms tense and his finger hovering near the trigger. His eyes never left her body. After watching the woman get back up from a bullet straight through the forehead, he wasn’t stupid enough to assume she’d stay down this time.
Just as Bryan had warned him, this really did seem like something straight out of a zombie movie. The only difference was that a headshot wasn’t enough to kill these things.
— BANG!
A shotgun blast shattered the silence.
“AH, FUCK!”
Bryan’s shrill scream, followed by a guttural, animalistic growl, immediately snapped Leon’s attention away from the woman. He whipped around and rushed toward the other side of the car, fearing Bryan was in trouble again.
And he was. Bryan was being dragged by one arm, a mass of writhing tentacles wrapped tightly around his wrist.
The dog, if that thing could still be called a “dog”, was less than ten feet away. Three of its legs were mangled and blood spread across the pristine snow beneath its body. Bryan’s shotgun blast had done a number on it, but apparently not enough to stop the damn thing. It dragged itself along the ground, its head split wide open like a grotesque flower and lashed out with a cluster of slick, twisting tentacles. They coiled around Bryan’s arm and pulled, trying to drag him closer to its gaping maw.
By the time Leon reached the other side of the car, Bryan was desperately clinging to the door with his free hand. His fingers were locked around the edge so tightly that his fingernails seemed on the verge of drawing blood. His shotgun lay abandoned a short distance away, beyond his reach, while the creature strained against him with such force that the entire car began to slide across the snow.
Leon didn’t waste a single second wondering what the fuck he was looking at, he raised his gun and fired repeatedly at the creature.
The gunshots thundered through the freezing night, each muzzle flash briefly illuminating the nightmare unfolding before him. Leon kept shooting until the creature’s head was completely mangled and its body finally stopped moving.
For one brief second, Bryan stood frozen, staring at the motionless monster as though his brain had simply stopped working. Then Bryan frantically clawed at the tentacles wrapped around his arm, tearing them away with wild and desperate movements. His breathing came in short, ragged gasps, and his face was so pale that he looked ready to pass out on the spot.
“You fucking mutt! You fucking bitch! This fucking nightmare! Just die, all of you! Why the fuck can’t you leave me alone?!”
The words tumbled out of Bryan in a panicked torrent. His voice shook violently and by the time he reached the end of his tirade, it sounded close to breaking into sobs.
Leon quickly swept his gaze across the surrounding area, checking for any more monsters lurking in the darkness. Once he was reasonably certain nothing else was about to jump them, he holstered his gun and hurried over to Bryan.
The man looked completely out of it. His eyes darted around without focusing on anything in particular, while his whole body trembled as though he were freezing from the inside out.
“Bryan, Bryan, hey, hey, calm down.” Leon gripped his shoulders and gave him a gentle shake, “Look at me. It’s okay, it's okay now. That thing isn’t moving anymore. You’re safe.”
But Bryan didn’t seem to hear him. His gaze remained distant and unfocused, as if Leon weren’t even standing in front of him.
A flood of horrific memories came crashing back. The beginning of everything, the desperate struggle to drag himself through Hell, and the unbearable pain of his final moments, when death finally claimed him. Every awful memory came rushing back at once, leaving him with no time to brace himself.
It felt as though his soul had been ripped out of his body, leaving him detached from his own existence. Some distant part of Bryan seemed to float outside himself, watching helplessly as his physical body buckled beneath the overwhelming terror, while every ounce of fear and trauma he’d ever experienced came crashing down on him.
His mind splintered like a stack of papers caught in a violent storm. Thoughts scattered in every direction, leaving nothing but confusion and panic in their wake. Bryan couldn’t stop shaking and couldn’t force himself to think clearly, couldn’t even recognize the reassuring voice calling his name.
All Bryan could do was tremble and spit out a string of frantic curses, most of them barely coherent.
Bryan genuinely thought that experiencing death firsthand would somehow make him better at handling this kind of horror. After everything he’d been through, surely he could learn to keep his shit together. But apparently, that was too much to ask.
The moment those tentacles wrapped around his arm, Bryan completely broke down.
Leon pressed his lips together, unable to stand the vacant look in Bryan’s eyes. The man in front of him seemed barely aware of his surroundings, his gaze distant and unfocused, as though some part of him was still trapped in that moment of terror.
Leon cupped Bryan’s face and gave his cheeks a firm slap, forcing him to lift his head and meet his eyes.
“Bryan, take a deep breath. Nice and slow. I’m right here, okay? I’ll protect you.”
His voice was steady and firm, carrying a quiet confidence that seemed almost impossible given the horrors they’d just witnessed. Somehow, that unwavering tone began to reach Bryan through the haze of panic. Little by little, it pulled him back to the present, giving him something solid to hold on to.
The emptiness in Bryan’s dark eyes gradually faded. His gaze finally focused on Leon’s face, on those bright, clear blue eyes looking straight back at him. For a moment, he could only stare. In their reflection, he caught a glimpse of his own pathetic state: pale, trembling.
“I’m right here with you.” Leon repeated, as though he wanted to make sure Bryan understood every word.
“You’re not alone, Bryan.”
… He wasn’t alone.
The words echoed in Bryan’s mind, gently quieting the chaotic storm of emotions raging inside him. The fear was still there, lurking beneath his skin, but the overwhelming panic slowly loosened its grip.
That was right. He wasn’t alone anymore. He didn’t have to face this nightmare by himself, Leon was right here beside him. The thought brought a small measure of comfort.
Leon was probably just as frightened as he was, yet he still managed to keep his composure. Even after everything that happened, he was standing here, trying to calm Bryan down instead of letting his own fear get the better of him.
Honestly, how could someone be so damn brave?
Bryan’s breathing gradually evened out, though his heart continued to pound painfully against his ribs. He realized he was gripping Leon’s hand without even thinking about it, clinging to him as though Leon were a lifeline and he were a drowning man with nothing else to hold on to.
Only when his thoughts finally began to clear did Bryan notice how tightly he was squeezing Leon’s hand. His fingers were wrapped around it so firmly that Leon’s knuckles had turned white.
God, that had to hurt, yet Leon didn’t even wince.
Bryan immediately released his hand and stumbled over his words, panic giving way to embarrassment, “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. I…”
The apology died on his lips. He couldn’t seem to find the right words, and the longer he stood there, the more ashamed he felt.
He lowered his head, wishing the freezing ground would open up and swallow him whole.
“I…” When Bryan finally spoke again, his voice was little more than a whisper. He raised his eyes to Leon’s face, gratitude shining through the lingering fear, “Thank you so much for that, Leon.”
Shit, Bryan felt like absolute garbage. He was nothing but a walking liability, an annoying burden this kind-hearted rookie had gotten stuck with. Leon was supposed to be enjoying his first day as a police officer, not babysitting some grown man who fell apart at the slightest sign of danger.
“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize.” Leon looked relieved to see Bryan had calmed down a little. He gave Bryan a gentle pat on the back, his expression softening as he took in his pale face and trembling hands, “Come on, let’s get you inside the car. Your face is freezing.”
Bryan silently followed Leon’s instructions. He bent down, retrieved his shotgun from the snow and hurried into the car, eager to get away from the nightmare outside.
Almost instinctively, Bryan glanced toward the dog to make sure the thing was really dead, even though the mere thought of looking at it made his stomach churn. Unfortunately, Leon was standing directly in his line of sight, blocking the view. All Bryan could see was blood spreading across the pristine white snow, staining it red like a bed of roses in full bloom.
Leon gave him another gentle pat on the back, urging him to get inside, so Bryan quickly looked away and opened the passenger door.
He realized Leon was deliberately blocking his view, trying to spare him from seeing anything else that might frighten him or leave him with even more horrible memories. Bryan knew they’d likely encounter plenty more nightmares before this was over, but the rookie’s quiet consideration still made his chest feel strangely warm.
It was such a small gesture, but it meant a lot.
Once Bryan settled into the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt, Leon walked around to the driver’s side. He glanced briefly at the woman lying in the snow before opening the door and climbing inside.
The moment the heater kicked in, warm air washed over Bryan’s freezing limbs. He could’ve cried from relief. After spending so long shivering in the bitter cold, the warmth felt almost miraculous, like someone had brought him back from the dead.
He hugged the transplant cooler tightly against his chest and stared straight ahead, keeping his eyes firmly on the road. Whatever happened, he absolutely refused to look at the dog’s corpse again.
Then something suddenly occurred to him. Bryan hurriedly pulled up his sleeve and examined his arm under the dim interior light, turning his wrist this way and that to check for any breaks in the skin.
Thankfully, his thick sweater seemed to have protected him from the tentacles. There were no scratches or puncture wounds, nothing that suggested they’d broken through his clothing. Just a few ugly bruises where the creature had gripped him, already turning dark beneath his skin.
The moment he touched them, a dull ache spread through his arm. Bryan winced, then let out a shaky sigh of relief.
It hurt like Hell, but at least his skin was intact! He had no idea whether a scratch from those tentacles could infect him the same way a bite could. The uncertainty alone was enough to make his stomach twist into knots.
After everything he’d been through, the last thing Bryan wanted was to get infected again.
Leon pulled the car back onto the road, still trying to reach someone through the radio and his phone. He switched between the two several times, frowning whenever nothing came through but a burst of static. The crackling filled the car for a few seconds before cutting out again, leaving them with nothing but the low hum of the engine.
Meanwhile, Bryan kept sneaking glances at Leon. He tugged nervously at his beanie, pulling it down over his ears before fiddling with the edge again. His fingers wouldn’t stay still, neither would his thoughts.
After several false starts, he finally steeled himself and spoke, “Leon, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Leon glanced at him, catching the restless way Bryan kept looking around instead of meeting his eyes.
“Yeah?”
Bryan figured it was time to come clean. Leon had seen those monsters with his own eyes, so surely he’d be much more willing to believe something as ridiculous as what Bryan was about to tell him.
Bryan would tell him everything, what he’d been through, where the zombies came from and the truth about the “game”.
Truthfully, Bryan’d been waiting for this moment. If he’d tried to explain everything before Leon witnessed the chaos for himself, the rookie would certainly have assumed Bryan was out of his mind.
Bryan knew he’d be sticking with Leon throughout this whole godforsaken nightmare. He was determined to keep the rookie alive, which meant staying together was their best bet. Keeping secrets would only complicate matters and Bryan couldn’t see any real benefit to keeping his mouth shut. If Leon knew what was going on, he might even be able to help Bryan complete his missions!
Taking a deep breath, Bryan finally began.
“Actually, I…”
Then he abruptly stopped. It wasn’t hesitation, he genuinely couldn’t make a sound.
Bryan tried to speak again, opening his mouth and forcing himself to push the words out, but nothing came. His voice seemed to have disappeared without a trace. He strained harder, desperate to get even a single syllable past his lips, yet his throat remained completely silent.
At the same time, his entire body locked up. His muscles stiffened, fingers froze in place and a cold sensation crawled down his spine as though some invisible force had seized control of him.
Then a familiar voice blared inside his head.
【WARNING: YOU ARE FORBIDDEN FROM REVEALING ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE GAME!】
【CONSEQUENCE OF VIOLATION: YOU WILL BE FORCIBLY RESPAWNED AT THE INITIAL SAVE POINT AND ALL PROGRESS WILL BE ERASED!】
The shrill warning rang through his skull, painfully loud and impossible to ignore. Bryan winced as a sharp ache spread through his head.
For a moment, he could barely think.
… What the fuck?
Bryan snapped his mouth shut, his eyes widening in shock.
The moment he stopped trying to speak, he could move again. The strange stiffness that gripped his body vanished as abruptly as it came, leaving him sitting there with a pounding heart and a cold sweat breaking out across his back.
He wasn’t allowed to reveal anything about the game…? Otherwise, he’d be forcibly sent back to the very first save point, the moment he ran over that woman with his car? And, to make matters worse, all his progress would be wiped out? What the fuck kind of bullshit rule is this?!
Why? Why was he forbidden from telling the truth? Was he seriously expected to keep everything a secret from Leon?!
Bryan felt as though he was about to fall apart all over again. His expression changed so abruptly that Leon frowned, glancing over at him with growing concern.
“Are you okay?”
Bryan slowly lifted his head. He looked into Leon’s bright blue eyes, which were filled with such genuine concern that, for a moment, Bryan couldn’t bear to look at them.
Guilt twisted deep in his gut, making him feel nauseous. Bryan felt terrible about hiding everything he knew from Leon, about continuing to follow him around like a lost puppy while carrying out every goddamn mission the game threw at him.
It felt like he was telling the biggest lie in the world. Maybe he could’ve lived with that if Leon were some unpleasant stranger he didn’t give a damn about. But no, Leon was genuinely kind, the sort of person who worried about someone like Bryan even while struggling to cope with his own terrifying circumstances.
How could Bryan possibly look him in the eye and keep lying? The thought made his chest ache.
… No, it was fine. He just needed to finish the game. Surely, once he cleared it, the damn thing would finally leave him alone.
Then Bryan could tell Leon everything. He’d explain the game, the missions, the respawns and all the horrible things he’d experienced. He’d lay the whole truth out in front of the rookie, no more secrets or pathetic excuses.
He believed Leon would understand.
“I’m fine. Urm, there’s something I wanted to tell you…” Bryan trailed off, hesitating before lifting the transplant cooler in his hand, “I think this thing might…”
He paused for a couple of seconds, half expecting the game to interfere. When nothing happened, Bryan let out a quiet breath and felt some of the tension leave his shoulders.
Good. As long as he didn’t mention that his knowledge came from repeatedly coming back to life, apparently he could still talk about everything else.
“I think this thing might be connected to the whole disaster.” Bryan continued.
Leon raised an eyebrow, giving him a look that clearly said: “Go on.”
Bryan swallowed, “You know about the Umbrella Corporation, right?”
“Of course. They have considerable influence in both politics and business.” Leon replied matter-of-factly.
“That’s not all! I did a little digging, and there are plenty of rumors that they’re secretly researching mutagenic viruses, genetically engineered organisms and biological weapons.”
Naturally, Bryan didn’t have a single source to back any of that up. He was making the whole thing up as he went along, and he could only pray Leon wouldn’t start asking for details. One or two follow-up questions would be enough to expose him as a complete fraud.
Bryan had no problem dragging Umbrella’s name through the mud. Honestly, he couldn’t stand the corporation, even though he’d only met a handful of its employees and barely spent any time around them.
But seriously, how was Bryan supposed to think highly of the people responsible for this living nightmare? And those so-called scientists? They were too damn stupid to deserve the title. They’d treated him like a disposable tool, something to use and throw away once it was no longer useful.
Still, talking about all this made him nervous. His heart hammered against his ribs, each beat louder than the last.
Leon frowned, apparently lost in thought.
“Doesn’t that sound suspicious to you? Doesn’t it remind you of what we’ve been dealing with? Genetic engineering, biological weapons… Zombies!” Bryan continued, giving the transplant cooler a light pat, “And I’m supposed to deliver this thing to Umbrella, that shady-as-fuck corporation!”
Leon lowered his gaze to the cooler in Bryan’s arms. He didn’t seem to doubt a word of what Bryan was saying. After seeing what the woman and the dog turned into, it was getting harder to dismiss Bryan’s suspicions. Maybe he really should start taking the guy more seriously.
Bryan had repeatedly tried to convince both Leon and Officer Wilson to leave the woman behind, warning them about just how dangerous she was. He’d also looked absolutely terrified when the dog appeared, insisting that it could kill them with ease.
Leon brushed off those warnings, assuming Bryan was simply letting his anxiety get the better of him. Then reality smacked him right in the face, twice.
“What exactly is this thing?”
Bryan blinked. He’d expected Leon to ask where he got his information or demand some kind of proof for the claims he’d just rattled off. The fact that Leon skipped straight to the important question was a pleasant surprise.
Well, that made things easier!
“I don’t know, but I’m about to find out.” Bryan popped open the transplant cooler.
Inside lay the exact same test tube Bryan remembered seeing before.
His breath caught in his throat. He stared at the glass tube for a moment, a strange sense of dread creeping up his spine. Then Bryan looked up and realized Leon was pulling the car over to the roadside. The rookie leaned closer, peering into the cooler with a serious expression.
Bryan studied the test tube, “I’m not sure what to make of it. It looks dangerous, but what if it’s some kind of… medicine? Cure?” He continued, a slight tension creeping into his voice, “They told me they needed it urgently. What if the situation in the city is so bad that they’re desperately trying to find a way to save people?”
… Was he being too obvious? For someone who supposedly knew all this from a little “independent research”, Bryan was saying an awful lot. He was practically spelling out his suspicions for Leon. What if the rookie started wondering how he knew so much?
Cold sweat trickled down Bryan’s back. He was a lousy liar, and he felt like he’d told twice as many lies today as he’d told in his entire life.
A few seconds passed before Leon finally looked Bryan in the eye. His expression grew serious, and when he spoke, his voice dropped to a quiet murmur, “Okay. We’ll take it to Umbrella and see whether your suspicions are right. If they really are behind all this, they’ll be answering for it in court.”
Bryan breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God, Leon was willing to trust him!
Perfect! Now he was fairly confident the rookie would willingly escort him to the twenty-eighth floor and hand this thing over to that “lovely” bunch of scientists. Just thinking about it made Bryan feel a little more at ease. One less thing to worry about, at least.
They resumed their drive toward Raccoon City. Before long, however, they came to a halt in front of a tunnel completely jammed with abandoned vehicles. Cars filled every inch of the road, some wedged against one another at awkward angles, others left with their doors hanging open. It looked like a serious pileup took place here, yet there wasn’t a soul in sight.
Some cars even still had their keys in the ignition. It was as if everyone simply stepped out of their vehicles and vanished into thin air.
Bryan felt the muscles in his back tense.
He knew this place, this was exactly where the little girl in the RV bit him.
The memory came rushing back, a chill crept up his spine. His gaze fixed on the tunnel entrance, where the abandoned cars formed a silent, ominous maze. For a moment, Bryan could almost feel the little girl’s teeth sinking into him all over again.
Nope! Absolutely fucking not!
That death flag wasn’t just waving at him from the tunnel entrance. It was practically standing there with a big fucking sign that read [Welcome back, Bryan! Ready to die again?]
He wasn’t falling for that shit twice!
Besides, there was no saving that kid. He’d already learned that the hard way, so why the Hell would he walk back into the same trap and risk everything all over again?
Bryan quickly turned to Leon, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.
“Hey, Leon, do you know another route we can take around here?”