No Turning Back

Chapter Fourty-Three: Reunion

"Richtofen!" A voice cried out.

"Richtofen -- wake up! Come on!" The voice trembled.

Richtofen could hear the voice calling out to him through the void. Everything was black as his mind lay suspended in limbo. But each time hear heard the voice; it seemed to gradually pull him out of it. 

"Please, wake up!" The voice called out.

The void seemed to go on for miles. Its crushing sea of darkness spanned miles in all directions. Richtofen slowly floated along as he looked around for the voice.

"Richtofen, follow my voice!" The voice whispered.

"But vhere?!" Richtofen wondered.

Then, as if his thoughts had been answered, he spotted the residual glow of a light on the horizon. 

"I must follow it!" Richtofen thought. 

The doctor began to move through the weightless void as he clawed his way through the air. Slowly, the light began to become brighter as he pushed forward. He began to feel the same warmth of its rays as before. The freezing air of the void thawed as he approached the light. Once Richtofen was within reaching distance he extended his arm to grab it.

"Huuuuuuuuuuhhh!" Richtofen violently gasped as he sat up before crashing back down.

His eyes were flooded with bright light which caused them to lose focus as they struggled to adjust. But through the chaos he noticed a familiar silhouette beside him.

"Richtofen, can you hear me?" The voice called out.

"Zhat voice... could it be?!" Richtofen asked himself in disbelief.

"Richtofen, come on! You need to stay with me", the voice commanded.

"Fight it!", they cried.

Richtofen paused for a moment. Through the cloud of delirium, Richtofen tried to process the voice before his heart skipped a beat.

"...Is zhat really jou? ...Have I died?" Richtofen whispered back.

"Oh for goodness sake don't be so dramatic", the voice replied sternly with a Scottish twang.

As the swirling disorientation began to clear; his eyes regained focus. Richtofen turned to see Kiana kneeling beside him on the floor. Her face was crumpled with worry as she tried to rouse the doctor awake.
"I never zhought jou vould find me", Richtofen mumbled.

"Aye, well you're not getting rid of me that easily I'm afraid", she replied sternly.

"I'll be sure to chastise you for what you did later but there are more pressing matters at hand", she added with a faded smile.

"We need to get you off this filthy floor. Can you get up if I help you?" Kiana asked.

Richtofen nodded and tried to sit up. Kiana helped him sit forward as his breathlessness eased back into a slightly more normal rhythm. She calmly helped Richtofen up as he shakily got up.

"Zhe adjoining building... zhere... is a room to zhe right", Richtofen whispered weakly.

"Okay, let's take it slow..." Kiana warned.

After a few laboured attempts, Richtofen finally managed to make it onto his feet. The weight of the cosmonaut suit fought against the pair as it tried to drag Richtofen back down. 

"Take your time, you can tell me when you're feeling ready to walk", Kiana said.

"I'll be fine", Richtofen snapped defiantly.