Before anyone could spew profanities Nikolai's way; the undead began to swarm at the barricades. Dempsey and Takeo grimaced as they readied their weapons whilst Richtofen sprung to action and unleashed his MP40 into a gathering horde.
Primis held Kiana's hand tightly as they rushed through the narrow alleyway and back to their camp. Kiana fixed her eyes on Primis' face as she felt her stomach knot at the worry and fear displayed on it. The good doctor never let go as they trudged through the craterous ground and deep pools of black water.
The terrifying shrieks and cries of the undead followed closely behind as each barricade the pair ran past was ferociously being torn down. But as Kiana caught the gaze of one of the undead scientists; she noticed the man's eyes flicker as his demonic voice seemed to scream her name:
"K---I--A--N---A!" The man shrieked in agony.
Her heart skipped a beat as the violent sneers and gnashing seemed to almost be aimed exclusively at her. The undead seemed to pay very little notice of Primis as their glowing eyes beamed towards Kiana.
All the while, her legs continued at their frantic pace like a locomotion. As she lost herself in her morbid thoughts, Primis continued to drag Kiana through the winding doorways and debris-strewn grounds. In the midst of the carnage, all she could whisper to herself was:
"It's happening..."
For once, Samantha had stayed true to her word. Her promise of an endless pursuit was really happening. But what about the rest of her threats? Was there any way to avoid the painful end Samantha had so gleefully promised?
Such thoughts frightened Kiana who now seemed oblivious to what was going on around her. Her only interaction with reality was the movement of her legs and the unwavering grip of Primis' hand. Her mind had frozen with fear.
"Kiana, KIANA!" Primis cried out.
"Stay vith me!" He called out as they continued to make their way to the lunar lander.
"Do not give into zhe fear. She is wrong!" Primis yelled through the shrill cries of the undead.
"I vill protect jou!-- I vill save everyvone!" Primis cried as he stopped and readied his MP5K before unloading round after round into the hordes.
But Kiana remained in the same debilitating daze of fear. Her mind slowed as all thoughts ground to a screeching halt.
"For as long as I live - I VILL KEEP JOU SAFE!" He desperately proclaimed over the gunfire.
Kiana began to focus on Primis' voice which seemed to be the anchor that pulled her further and further out of her despair. But it was the hopelessness of seeing the vast numbers of undead and the thought of them ever getting to her which sent her back down that deep dark well once more. The thought of the pain and agony of succumbing to their vicious teeth and clawing hands sent her further into her despair.
Kiana looked down at Richtofen's pistol which remained clipped to her waist belt in its tan leather holster. As she looked up and around; the approaching hordes clamouring through every barrier and doorway overwhelmed her. A mere pistol would only prolong the inevitable - if she was lucky.
But then, she thought of the man who gave it to her. She thought of the day he taught her how to use it. The very same murderous man who so gently and delicately guided her aim that day in Der Riese. The softness of his voice as he calmly instructed her every step of the way.
She then looked to his other self who stood there so desperately trying to hold off the offending hordes. The Richtofen who had been trying so hard to atone for his sins. His teeth gritted together as each round tore through the hordes. Kiana felt angry with herself as she watched how his eyes welled with tears as he fought valiantly whilst she simply stood there on the verge of succumbing to her own thoughts.
This was a woman who, up until now, had cherished her indomitable will. Her stubbornness and determination had seen her through times where others had simply crumbled - the very people she saw as weak. And it angered her that she had been reduced to the same sorry state.
But seeing Primis and thinking about Richtofen finally began to pull her out of it. Even the thought of how everyone cared so much about her began to loosen the metaphorical shackles which subdued her. How could she let everyone down? Kiana had been given this opportunity to save everyone. She could not fail now.
With newfound strength, Kiana quickly upholstered the pistol and began mercilessly firing into the hordes. The force of the pistol sent shockwaves up her arms as her muscles tensed and fought to keep control of the gun.
One by one, her careful shots struck blows at the heads of the undead. And with each successful hit, Primis could focus solely on thinning the crowds whilst she picked off the stragglers. Kiana's teeth clenched as she let out a guttural roar and fought back the tears.
Primis turned around to see her wild state and she methodically picked off the undead one by one. The small, weak woman he wanted to shield and protect was now unrecognisable.
Then, one of the undead dropped a power up as the glowing green light hovered nearby. As Primis stepped forward to pick it up; he noticed Kiana threw her last gersch device. The whole area was bathed in purple light as she ran over to the power-up. Once she got close enough to recognise the symbol she smiled as the green light reflected against her face.
"Fire sale..." The demonic announcer growled.
There was a propeller beside Primis which housed a wooden platform for the mystery box. In a puff of smoke; the box suddenly appeared before their eyes as he ran to start the first spin. The box landed on the famas which Primis grumbled over before Kiana's hands reach out and grabbed it.
"Quick! Spin it again!" Kiana cried.
"But, jou haven't been taught how to--" Primis began before Kiana unleashed a full magazine into the hordes.
The rush of adrenaline Kiana was experiencing relinquished her fear of the unknown. She held the gun tightly as it shot a hail of bullets one after after other. Her aim was sufficient enough to hit the bodies of the undead and take them out. Primis stood in awe as he looked back at the mystery box and noticed more gersch devices waiting for him.
After taking them he immediately flung one out granting them respite. The fire sale jingle was nearing its end before Kiana managed to activate the box one last time. The box cycled through all the possible weapons before finally stopping on the HK21.
"I believe this is for you!" Kiana smiled over to Primis who happily took the light machine gun.
"I don't think I'm quite ready for that one yet!" Kiana chuckled softly as her eyes returned to their usual friendly demeanour.
The gersch device was beginning to close before Kiana noticed the remaining stragglers. Primis immediately threw a grenade which exploded into a cloud of dust before revealing three crawlers which narrowly missed the all-consuming light of the gersch device.
"Phew..." Kiana sighed breathlessly.
"That was not a nice feeling back there", she added uncomfortably - referring to her mental freeze.
Primis simply smiled reassuringly as he was happy to see her spring to action so readily. She was entitled to slip up every once in a while. And she had not done it until now.
Their attention was drawn back to the three crawlers who were now slowly dragging themselves towards them. The two undead soldiers and scientist remained fixated on making their way through the field of debris as they hissed and gnashed their teeth.
"What will we do with them?" Kiana asked - clearly saddened by the sorry state of the men.
"I vill tie vone up nearby und take zhe ozhers to zhe centrifuge room. If Nikolai manages to find zhose two at least ve have anozher crawler just in case!" Primis explained - rolling his eyes at Nikolai's forgetfulness.
"Okay, I'll go get my bag and meet you once you're done" Kiana smiled.
Once the crawlers were taken care of it was midday. Kiana and Primis met up in the alleyway before agreeing to check on the status of the others. As they set out back towards the oil tanker; they were met with an empty scene - Richtofen and the guys were nowhere to be seen.
Primis frowned and looked around. He put his index finger to his lips as signalled for Kiana to wait by the tanker. The doctor quietly proceeded up to the gate and peered around and check the campfire.
But once he rounded the concrete wall; he saw that the campfire had been reduced to a smouldering pile of burnt papers. Then, Primis heard Dempsey's roaring voice as the marine made his way towards him.
"That fuckin' kraut!" Dempsey shouted as he balled his fists.
Then, there was a loud bang from Richtofen's building.
"Ayyyy, ayyyy, Dempsey! Don't walk so fast! Nikolai is too tired to keep up", the Russian called out behind.
Once Dempsey walked out of the building and towards the campfire he clocked Primis. The marine quickly straightened up and tried to casually walk over.
"Hey, what's up?" Dempsey whispered.
"I zhink I should ask jou zhe same zhing..." Primis whispered back.
"Uh, yeah. It's just Richtofen being a prick -- as usual!" The marine smiled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Is he going to repair zhe generator now? Ve have set aside zhree undead since Nikolai can't be trusted", Primis asked as he groaned the latter.
"Yeah, he's getting his shit together. Says he needs to make some kinda soldering iron thingy", Dempsey replied.
"How's Kiana?" He added - with genuine concern.
"Don't vorry, she is fine. But jou missed her valiant outburst vith zhe famas", Primis said cryptically.
"What? She's onto submachine guns already? Aw, man!" Dempsey cheered joyfully like a proud parent.
"Did jou get anyzhing good from zhe fire sale?" Primis asked.
"Uh, I got this gersch thingy like Kiana. Nik got the fuckin thunder gun so we're all doomed", Dempsey lamented.
"Güt, keep zhe gersch devices for zhe larger hordes. Zhey saved us back zhere", Primis advised.
"Got'cha", Dempsey smiled.
Primis and Dempsey said goodbye as Nikolai looked around for the marine. They both returned to their posts as Primis made his way back to Kiana. Once Primis had arrived back at the scrapyard; the heavens began to open up as the clouds gave up their rain. The dusty facility was now bathed in the cool rain which pierced the sky as it crashed to the earth.
The pair quickly navigated through the muddy ground before stopping under the shelter of the door which joined the stamin-up area to the scrapyard. Primis looked out at the stormy weather as he eyed the debris.
"Ve vill need to make a shelter if ve are to remain in zhis area of zhe facility", Primis announced.
"Well, there's the metal stairs. Maybe we can build something around that?" Kiana suggested.
"Hm, ja. Zhat vill vork", Primis smiled as his eyes landed on the sheet metal which lay slumped again a broken wall.
That evening, Primis and Kiana had constructed their shelter. The scrapyard provided all the necessary materials to make something both wind-proof and water-tight. In fact, it was rather cosy. The two happily climbed in and huddled within their little nest.
"Ahhh, zhis is quite nice!" Primis smiled.
"Aw, why didn't we do this sooner?!" Kiana giggled.
"And we even have a TV!" Kiana added - nodding to the TV they had found under the stairs.
"But it's a shame we don't have something to watch. Oh, it would be so nice to have some blankets and and watch a good movie. That's what we do back home -- well, not in a ruined Soviet facility though!" Kiana chuckled.
Primis smiled at Kiana as he thought about earlier. Seeing her happy demeanour now; he would have been forgiven for wondering if her wrathful onslaught had really happened. And in a strange way, Primis found himself becoming even more attracted to Kiana.
"Ja, zhat does sound nice", Primis smiled.
"But ve can have a nice fire at least", he added as he nodded to the little fire pit that he had built around their shelter.
Kiana let out a big yawn as Primis started the fire. She then took off her coat and tried to use it as a blanket. And out of consideration, she tried to share the small coat with Primis - who chuckled at the gesture.
Primis placed his arm around her as they both enjoyed the warmth of the fire. The rain continued to pour as each drop tapped against the metalwork above. His eyelids felt heavy as sleep tempted him. Primis looked down at Kiana who was already fast asleep.
It was time for him to do the same...
End of part thirty-nine...