The Night Howlers (Black Ops 3 and 4 fanfic) - PRIMIS CREW

Die Stücke Aufheben

Chapter 4

Die Stücke Aufheben

Picking Up the Pieces

Third Person Narrator

Crouching beneath the stairs that led to the alleyway, Rosemary kept her guns by her side. She cried loudly and painfully, almost sounding like she was being mauled by the undead. This only sped up Dempsey and Takeo's pace as they weaved their way past the couple undead they encountered.

After exiting stage right and going through the next room, Tank's normally calm demeanor faded and was replaced with worry and panic.

"Rosemary! ROSIE?!"

Not a sound to be heard. So he called out to her again.

"ROSIE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Rosie stayed quiet as she buried her face into her arms and knees. Tank and Takeo walked downstairs and near the garage, overlooking where Rosie was hiding and crying. Being very quiet, Takeo scouted the area and listened intently.

Rosie whipped her head up and croaked out their names.

"Tank....TAKEO!"

Takeo quickly turned around and knelt down a few feet from her.

"Misu (Miss)...."

She nodded with a small smile. "Rosemary, or Rosie."

"We have been searching for you. Are you hurt? Anything broken?"

She shook her head. "Just been here, crying. But I'm fine now."

Takeo lowered his gun and held out his left hand. "Come with us. You are safe now, Zia."

Rosemary wiped her tears from her face and slowly took Takeo's hand. "Thank you, Takeo...W-where's Tank?"

"Walk with me. I shall take you to him."

As they walked past the garage, Rosemary broke the silence.

"My own sister, Takeo...said she hated me."

"One says hurtful things when overcome by anger," Takeo said.

"But I suppose I deserve it, Tak."

"Why you feel you deserve this?" Takeo asked.

"Zelma will suffer in silence until she feels she's ready to talk on her own. It happened with our mom. But Dad was able to help her."

"How did your father do so?"

"By just talking to her. Giving comforting words. Reassuring her."

"I...understand."

After walking into the lobby, the two stopped in their tracks.

"Hey, Tak! Ya found her. Is she alright?" Tank asked from upstairs balcony.

"Yes, she is."

"That's good to hear. We'll rest here for a bit until the zombies come back. You got yer guns, Rosie?"

"Yeah, I'm all good." Rosemary walked up the stairs and sat at the top of them.

After a few minutes of resting and lying back on the stairs, she heard soft boot steps near her head and startled her.

"Hey, you."

"Hey, Tank."

"Mind if I join ya?"

"Sure, I could use some company."

Dempsey sat a foot away from her leaning against the wooden stairs.

"So, what's on your mind?"

"My sister, Zelma. I shouldn't have done it."

"Done what?"

"Pushed her. Prodded her. I pushed her into talking when she didn't want to."

"Doesn't she need the closure, though?"

"Sure, but on her own time. She lost her father and husband, too."

"Sheesh...that sucks. I'm sorry to hear that."

"The only man she's loved for seven years, and now, he's gone. Finally..."

"You didn't like him, did you?"

"Dempsey..."

"Yeah?"

"May I confide in you?"

After a moderate pause, Tank stared at her and nodded.

"Axel, my sister's husband, he changed....Ever since the zombies and stuff, he's just been controlling, overprotective and...unstable."

"Hmph, what d'you mean?"

"Mood swings, angry outbursts. He didn't want her going off on her own. Wanted to keep her on a tight leash. But when he didn't get his way or whenever she fought back, he punished her....He hit her. He punched her. He kicked her."

"That bastard..."

"We all tried to talk to her, tell her to leave him, but she said that she couldn't. We needed the firepower even more after Mom died."

"So, she stayed trapped in the marriage. Damn."

"It was too soon to push her to talk about this. She needed her space."

"I'm sure she'll still love you."

"Oh, sure she will....Zelma's all I have left now. It's just us now."

Rosemary felt herself tearing up again.

"I was close to Mommy, she was Daddy's favorite. Now, we have no one."

She inhaled sharply through her nose when she felt him grab her hand.

"No, that's not true, Rosemary....Nikolai lost his family. I lost everyone I knew. Takeo was betrayed. And Richtofen, well, he's got his own baggage. But that still doesn't mean you'll be fighting these freakbags alone. All of us are here for you. And we'll never turn our backs on you and Zelma. The four of us, Rosie; we're your family now. And we always will be."

"Really? Y-you mean it?"

"Hell, yeah...we'll be there for ya."

Tank held up his arm and hand as Rosemary laced her fingers with his.

"All for one..." Dempsey said.

"And one for all." Rosemary sniffled her tears back and gave Tank a tight hug just as Takeo patted her on the back. He nodded confidently, smiling at her.