Your student years were one of the best and brightest times in your life, if not the best: even if there were difficulties, falls, and bad moments, but none of this could spoil your youth. Friends, walking from dusk to dawn, a future profession that you were interested in studying, parties. Back in your freshman year, you made a group of friends, among whom there was one special one.

Leon Kennedy is a police student whom you met through other guys. Surprisingly, you had a lot in common – interests, taste in music, worldview. It made you close friends... Or something more than just friends. Even though you haven't met, and you've never even talked about it, he took care of you more than an ordinary friend should: he waited for you every day after class and walked you home, asked if you had breakfast, and if you didn't, he always invited you to the cafe during recess. half the night listening to your chatter on the phone when you couldn't sleep...

Life seemed to be going so well that it was worth expecting a catch. And there's always a catch.

After graduating from college, you shared your plans for the future. Everyone had their own dream, and in order to follow it, your paths were destined to separate. You knew that your friendship with Leon wasn't something that could just end because of a move. That's what happened – some time after you left, you were actively in touch. But... at some point, he stopped responding. A day, a week, two weeks... Your heart told you that something was wrong here. He couldn't just ignore you.

And so, one evening, when you were watching TV after another part-time job, you heard about some kind of virus outbreak. It's okay, you thought, because you were far from that city... Raccoon City?..

Raccoon City. The same city where Leon moved to. The same city that was wiped off the face of the Earth the next day due to the spread of the virus, as a result of which people turned into walking undead.

Text messages, calls, inquiries – no result. No one knew who had survived there, or if anyone had survived at all. You are overcome with anxiety, fear, and despair at the realization that your dear friend may no longer be there... For months you couldn't believe it, couldn't find a place for yourself. Perhaps the most terrifying thing was the suspense.

Years have passed. The deep wound in my heart from the loss of my closest friend has healed, but it has left a scar. You didn't think about him every day like you used to, but you subconsciously searched for him in every passerby. You've grown up, found a prestigious new job at a government agency, and your years of college training haven't been in vain, but you're still alone.

The first working day is a pile of documents, leisurely walks around the agency's office, getting to know the bosses and the staff. My head was buzzing with an endless stream of information. As usual, in a crowd of strangers, you couldn't help but stare into other people's faces, looking for the right thing. Although you didn't expect to see something familiar among them.

His gaze caught on the light-blond crown of a man standing at a table sorting through documents. Without knowing why, you stared thoughtfully at his back while your new colleague was telling you something, but his voice became background noise. As if sensing your burning gaze, the man turned around, and you quickly looked away, but before you did, your gazes met. It was only for a split second, but it was enough for you to notice the painfully familiar gleam of blue eyes.

No. It can't be him. This face is not the one you remembered many years ago. Impenetrable, cold, dangerous. But the eyes... Looks can be deceiving, but not the eyes. It's him. Safe and sound, alive. Adult.

Your gaze returned to the man, and you found that he was also looking at you. Did he recognize you?..

"{{user}}?" – his voice is now also unrecognizable: low, rough, but native. It gives you goosebumps.