Shepard of Fire (COD BO2 Fanfic)

Reality's Nightmare

Chapter 10

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Holly's POV:

It had been about 2 weeks since my fight with Richtofen, and nothing had changed. We'd occasionally grant the other the pleasure of a moment of eye contact, but that was about it. I had developed a routine, vomiting twice a day, once when I wake up, another before bed. It had become so normal that no one but Tank ever came in the bathroom to help me anymore. Kelsie finally convinced me to got to the doctor about it.

Flashback:

As I sat in the examination room, I began to worry about what the problem could be. And after what seemed like hours, the doctor came back with the results."Mrs. Connerson, your blood sample results have come back." "And? What wrong with me?" I begged, anxious to know. "Mrs. Connerson, the results have shown that you...."

Flashback End

As I drove home now, I thought of ways to break the news to everyone. It was a big deal, and I knew I couldn't go through it alone. Upon entering the house, I noticed it was empty. "Weird, Tessa's text said everyone was here. Even Kelsie." I murmured to myself. It was then that I noticed a strange noise, a loud whirring and hissing sound. I plodded up the stairs, following the noise all the way to the lab. The machine Richtofen had build was operating, but no one was in the room with it. I growled, "Geez, that over-grown weasel! This thing is gonna run up the power bill! I'm a psychologist, not a fuckin' millionaire!" I eyed the lever from the night of the fight. "Looks like an off switch to me..." I mumbled, gripping the lever with both hands, and pushed it down until it clicked. Almost immediately, there was a deafening sound, followed by a blinding light that brought me to my knees. I held my ears, and screamed as loud as I could, though I couldn't hear myself. Then everything went black.

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When I came to, I was alone. It was dark, cold, and a rancid smell tainted the air. I gagged, and sat up, scanning my surroundings. The room was dark and cluttered with objects that I couldn't make out. The strong, metallic scent of blood, and decay got to my weak stomach. I gagged lightly, but froze as I noticed something across the room move. It was a man, I noticed, as he stood to his feet, his back faced to me. I stood up, my knees still a bit wobbly. "Excuse me, sir?" He froze, and the air grew quiet. "C-can you tell me where I am?" His head snapped around, and horror took over me. Flesh seemed to rot from his body, exposing blackish tendons and yellow tinted bones. Puss and black ooze leaked from his body, and his the sockets if his eyes glowed a bright yellow. He moaned, and began to stagger towards me. Fear kept me frozen in place, and my eyes raced for an exit. To my side stood a wooden door, frames rusted nearly clean off. I sprinted to it, and gave the door a hard kick. It fell down with ease, clattering loudly on the concrete floor. I raced down the hall, that lay behind the door, running anywhere I could. The thing behind me began to run, screaming as he followed close behind me. Quickly kicking down another door, I sprinted across, what seemed like, a large stage. Then, to my horror, I tripped. The creature scream ravenously, stalking quickly towards me as I stumbled backwards under the faint over-hung lights. He was feet from me then, and in my last hope, I scream. So loud, my throat began to burn. I squeezed my eyes shut, and continued to scream as he quickly moved ever closer. Then, a loud bang, a splattering sound, and a hot spray on my cowering body. Cautiously, I opened my eyes. It's head was missing now, and it stood still. After a few minutes, it clambered to its knees, then fell forward. Black ooze, and rancid blood spurted from its decapitated neck, puddling quickly to stream towards me. I shook violently, unable to wretch my eyes from the sight. Reality shot back to me, though, when a large hand gripped my shoulder. I screamed, jumping forward to my hands and knees. I tried to crawl away, but a familiar voice and hands flipped me around. Tank Dempsey, blood-splattered and shock-expression. I raised my hand to touch him, but froze when I spotted the black and yellow liquid the lightly coated my skin. I gagged, and my stomach, once again, took over. I threw myself to the side, and emptied today's meals from my body onto the ground. I began to sob, and screamed again. Familiar voices surrounded me, and Tank wrapped his arms around me like he usually did. I collapsed into him, burying my face into his neck, and crying. He murmured something to the others about me being in shock. after a few minutes, I had calmed myself enough to speak. "The... the... fuck was... that thing...?" I muttered between hiccups. Tank sighed, "A zombie. That was a zombie, Holly." I pulled my head back, rubbing my eyes roughly. Small hiccups still shook me and I opened my eyes to look around. Tank, Tessa, Richtofen, Kelsie, Takeo, and Nikolai. Everyone was here, but, where was 'here'. "Where are we?" I asked, my noises finally quieting. "Velcome to Kino der Toten, frau, year 1968." Richtofen answer, looking quite smug with himself. I pressed my fingers to my temples, rubbing little circles in them. "I need a hot bath... and some lavender..." I groaned. "So, what did the doc say, Holly? You said you had some news to tell us." Kelsie chimed, causing me to freeze. The blood test! I had completely spaced it! "Umm, just a stomach bug, he said!" I sputtered, earning a few choice looks. I decided it was time to cut this visit short. "Hey, Richtofen, you know this place pretty well, right? Is there a place I can take a hot bath?" Richtofen nodded, and gestured to Tessa. I guess she knew the way, too. I was glad, though. Maybe I could talk to her about my 'little issue'.

I followed her down a hall that exited the theater. Lights shone dimly above us, lighting out way nicely. We entered a musty smelling room a few corridors away from the others. Inside was a sink, toilet, and a large tub with a shower head hanging inside above the faucet. Tessa turned to leave, but I stopped her. "I need to talk to you." She nodded, and locked the door behind her. She sat down in the edge if the sink, and I sat on the toilet sink. "There's something I need to tell you, and I'm super scared about it." She was quiet a moment, then spoke up. "Holly, your pregnant, aren't you?" I froze, then looked her right in the eye. Normally, this kind of conversation would have been a joke, but now here we were. I swallowed, "How did you know?" She laughed. "Your forgetting that I predicted my sister pregnancy, the gender, and the baby's name before she even knew! I could feel it, sis. I kinda had the feeling the other day when the pulling started, but I wanted you to learn yourself." I chuckled, "Should have known I couldn't hide it from a Psychic!" She smiled, "Do you want me to predict a few details for you?" I grinned, and nodded. I was glad to have her around. But now came the real challenge; breaking the news to everyone else, including Tank.