Into The Aether

Chapter Twenty-Two: Bargaining For Life

I gave Dempsey a sympathetic nod and unholstered my pistol to ready the gun. We had all now met up on the stage as the rest followed close behind him. Lastly, Primis sauntered up the steps and began glaring at me. He narrowed his eyes but remained silent. I rolled my eyes and glared back as Richtofen eyed the spectacle with suspicion. He turned to look down at the floor as if in deep thought before quickly rising to give the group's orders.

"Ve must clear zhem out und secure zhe building", Richtofen commanded.

We all looked at each other and arranged ourselves into groups before setting out. I stuck with Dempsey as we made our way toward the dressing room. As we made our advance, we were met with hordes of undead spilling in through the barriers on both sides. Upon seeing them, Dempsey gave out a large gravelly laugh before readying his M16 and blasting his way through.

I secured the rear and picked off any undead that strayed our way. As I looked back out toward the stage and the seats; I turned to see Nikolai and Takeo who were keeping a tight leash on Primis. I felt relieved that he was being kept away from Richtofen for the time being. The man in question had already gone off and taken on a horde of his own.

The manicial laughter was fairly evident.

As the sound of Dempsey's gunfire came to a halt; I turned back to see hordes of the undead now spewing forth from the dressing room. It was absolutely packed so I relied on Dempsey to take most of them out. I stayed back and picked off any that survived Dempsey's barrage of bullets. As I stood beside the marine I saw his eyes were completely lit up as he sported his signature cocky grin.

His eyes sparkled as they reflected the flashes of gunfire from his M16. It was terrifyingly enchanting. I came to and checked on Nikolai and Takeo who were still over at the stage with Primis. All three men were so consumed with the matter at hand that they had overlooked the mystery box nearby.

I smiled to myself and decided I was determined to try and at least make up some points this time - I really wanted a shot at the mystery box. So I made sure to get as many bullets in instead of headshots without depleting my magazine too much. Dempsey would have covered me if we fell back for ammo anyway.

But I did wonder if the power ups were going to show up; a max ammo would have been helpful about now!

"We make a real good team!" Dempsey cheered as he winked at me.

I was torn from my plans as we advanced further into the dressing room. Instinctively, I felt compelled to take one last look behind me as I watched Richtofen lead a large train up onto the stage - clearly in his element. As he passed the dressing room we locked eyes; his gaze which fell on me was unbreakable.

The sounds of carnage fell silent as everything around us was omitted - it was just us in that moment. Richtofen no longer looked the same - not after our conversation. His eyes were now solem as I watched the murderous intent drain from his face. The massive horde that was gaining on him was not even enough to rouse his enthusiasm.

In my daze, I felt Dempsey's hand on my shoulder as Richtofen dragged his eyes away from mine. The room resumed its cacophony of noise and anarchy as I quickly followed him to the dressing room. We fought our way through the remaining stragglers and made it through to the next room with the speed cola machine.

I held up the rear as Dempsey ploughed through the undead that trunged their way to us. We finally cleared the room before slowly making our way up the stairs where the paintings hung on the wall. After the sound of rapid gunfire and many an "oorah", the room fell silent. The coast was clear so we stopped to catch our breath and gaze up at the portraits.