You Make Me Sane

Five

It had been a few hours since Richtofen and I talked. The five of us had gotten control of one of the giant robots and was headed to get Dempsey 1.0. It was actually going to hurt, seeing the old Dempsey dying. I'll miss him, but I liked the younger version a lot more. We soon arrived at the gondala station. Ever since I met these guys, I've been a totally different person, come to think of it. Still saw anyone covered in blood sexy, but anything else, save pain, gave me no pleasure. It was strange. Shrugging it off, I pulled out my pistol and began shooting incoming zombies.

  Looking at the destruction that lay at my feet, I thought about what would happen if I did change. I looked over at Nikolai and Takeo, who were fighting pretty well. I felt a hand landed on my shoulder, startling me. I turned to see Dempsey. "You alright?" He asked. I shook my head. "No.. I'm not alright." I replied and looked away. "Need to talk about it?"
   "Maybe later. For now, let's kill these flesh eating assholes." I grinned as we got back to work.

  After fighting off the zombies, Dempsey and I sat on some stairs. "What's been bothering you?" He asked. "Well, you know very well that I was bitten by a zombie, correct?" I looked at him as he nodded, "Yeah, but I never really have it much thought."
   "The urges to kill and eat you guys get stronger, and I fear that pretty soon, I won't be able to fight it and.." I said as tears started to form in my eyes. This was the first time I've cried since I was five. "Hey, don't start with the waterworks. You can fight this." He said as I wiped my tears away. "I believe in you, Azalea." He pulled me into a hug. I hugged back, burying my face in his chest. I took in his scent as he held me. He soon let me go and stood. He helped me up and wiped a tear off of my cheek. I looked up at him with a small smile as he handed me a gun. "Try shooting some heads off those flesh eating maggots." He grinned, making me laugh a bit before helping the others with killing zombies.

   It wasn't long until I started losing control of my body. I had dropped my gun and collapsed to the floor. I longed to have the sweet taste of flesh in my mouth.. Wait, what am I saying? I tried to snap back to normal, but it wasn't working. Growling and almost foaming at the mouth, I started reaching for my gun. "Richtofen, get Azalea!" I heard Nikolai yell. I saw Richtofen kick the gun away from me as he grabbed my arm, leading me away from the group. I tried everything in my power not to swat at him or bite him. "Calm down, liebe. It's alright." He said, holding my arms down as he held me close. My back was against his chest. One of his arms was wrapped around my neck and was slowly getting tighter. I gradually stopped moving and my eyes closed.

  I awoke in a room with multiple computers and machines. I was laying in front of the fireplace. I looked around, only to see Richtofen. "What happened..?" I asked with a cough. "You were turning.. I didn't know what else to do but to make you pass out." He said with sorrow in his voice. "Richtofen, it's alright.. At least I'm not dead, like I was about to be if you hadn't kicked the gun away from me." I replied, making my way to him. "Where are the others?" I looked around. "They're getting the food  the got teleported with us. You're very pale and need to eat." He answered. "Edward, I'm fi-"
   "No, Azalea, you are not fine. You are turning into one of them." He argued. "Edward, you can't be able to fix everything. You're only one person." I looked at him. He seemed to ignore me and walked off. Nikolai, Dempsey, and Takeo just walked in. "What's his problem?" Dempsey asked. "He's angry because he can't find a way to reverse my zombification." I replied, looking down. "This isn't your fault, Azalea. He shouldn't be mad at you." Takeo said. I looked away. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked at Dempsey. "It's not your fault." He said with a smile. Nikolai handed me a can of beans with a spoon. "You should eat something." He said. "Thanks, guys." I smiled and started eating.

  Night fell and I was in front of the fireplace, warming myself up after fighting outside in the cold. I stared at the flames, watching them dance. I sighed softly. Dempsey soon sat down next to me, draping his jacket over me. "It's going to happen, you know that." I said softly. "Right now, I have to put my faith in Richtofen." I rolled my eyes. "There's nothing left to do but to kill me. I'm changing.." I looked down at the bite on my arm. It was turning purple and was becoming more infected. "If it does happen, please..don't hesitate to kill me.. I don't want to hurt any of you." I looked at the American next to me. He moved some hair out of my face before kissing my forehead. I looked up at him and smiled. Butterflies flooded my stomach the longer I stared at this man.

  The moment was cut short when Richtofen yelled with much excitement, "Liebe! Get over here!" I rushed over to his voice. Outside and upstairs in one of the tower rooms, I found the German staring at a computer screen. "What is it, Doc?" I asked, looking at the glass tube he held in his hand. He held a syringe in the other hand. "I think this should work.." He said as he filled the syringe with the yellowish liquid that was in the tube. He grabbed my arm and started looking for a vein. "Doc, what is this?" I asked as he injected me with the liquid. "If this works correctly, this should stop the zombification." He replied. "Are you..sure?"
   "I bet my life on it, Liebe." He replied as he looked me in the eye. I could see the determined fire in his eye. "I believe you, Doc.. Just kill me if this doesn't work.." I replied. Right now, I didn't have faith anymore.. Then again, it died a long time ago..