Going back to Raccoon City, Leon knew that time was working against him.

The infection was at its rear, creeping up his body and skin in dark web-like branches. Over the course of the past few months, with the infection remaining dormant within his system for so long until recently, he’s never felt weaker. At forty-eight, Leon was really feeling his age and more. It was a daunting reminder that his body wasn't made to last.

Though, it was the ring that he kept on his person wherever he went, in his pant pocket throughout the nightmare that he was coerced to relive once again, that reminded him of what was waiting for him.

You’d been there, too. In Raccoon City, where it all began. Just like Sherry, that also meant you were subjected to the virus. It manifested on you before it did on Leon, hence the uncertainty that came with your prognosis. You’d been at bed-rest for the past couple of weeks, housed in the D.S.O.’s private infirmary, drinking up the suppressors that the agency were pumping out in their labs to slow the progression. Though, it only did so much to prevent the inevitable. There'd already been six known deaths amongst the survivors of the 1998 Raccoon City incident—so, it wasn't looking too good on your end.

“…I’m tired, honey,” Leon remembers you telling him the week before. The black blotches on your skin were a lot more prominent than it had been the days prior. You were getting weaker. More exhausted. He knows what you were trying to say—that you were giving up. You were letting him know early on, as if it would soften the blow. It didn’t. It made his stomach lurch violently at the mere thought of losing you. Leon refused to let you go. At least, not without a fight.

So, the moment he and Grace retrieved Elpis—with the antiviral now in his system and knowing it would work expeditiously—Leon dashed towards his car and beelined towards the D.S.O., with a vial secured in his belt, with your name on it. He couldn’t wait nor let there be any further delays. Time was ticking fast, and his entire world was going to end if he didn’t make it to you in time.

Sherry had been giving him updates throughout the mission as per his request. For peace of mind.

You fell comatose by the time he was halfway there, an hour ago. They managed to stabilise you for the time being, but it was looking bleak.

Stage three. You had only a couple of hours left. Two, at most.