Into The Aether

Chapter One: A Warm Summer's Night

The pandemic, lockdowns, threats of war... the hopelessness of it all. The world truly felt like it was ending. My days became empty and my dream of becoming a doctor felt further and further away - how ironic. In order to cope, I found myself taking up old hobbies I now had time for again.

The doom and gloom loomed over me like a spectre and I found myself withdrawing further to try to escape the madness. I always found solace in gaming and, in particular, CoD Zombies. It was my go-to when I was stressed - exams, a bad breakup - no matter what, it was always there.

I dusted off the Black Ops One disc as a vapour of voices flowed in through the open window. It was a hot, humid, summer night - even by Scottish standards. Though, there was something reassuring about hearing the street outside bustling with life again; it was a glimmer of how things used to be.

After inserting the disc, I walked over to my bed where my dog was sleeping. I cuddled her and gave her a kiss before reaching out to pick up my controller. The anxiety rattled through my body as my head spun with all my worries. I took a deep breath and pressed the PS button earning a confirmatory beep from the console. The loading screen welcomed me before I selected Black Ops One from the menu. The game then loaded before I selected Zombies and eagerly entered a public lobby.

As much as I like Primis my heart was always set on the old school zombies with the Ultimis crew. To my surprise, and without much wait, I found a team despite the heavily modded lobbies. The familiar music began to play during the Kino Der Toten loading screen. After loading in, I was greeted by a familiar pair of black gloves holding the starting pistol. Playing as Richtofen always made me happy as I could play the game while hearing all his funny quotes.

A few hours were spent on the map as we got to a high round before my console began to glitch and lag with the sheer number of zombies loading in at any given time. I persevered, subsequently falling just short of my best round. The feelings of doom and gloom felt long forgotten as I had immersed myself in the game.

It was now 11:59pm and I soon found a good team for Der Riese. I had zoned out momentarily as I waited for the game to load before realising I had been stuck on the loading screen for much longer than usual. I could no longer hear the other players' microphones and so I was forced to turn off the console and clean my disc.

I got up from my bed - with phone in hand as I had been on Instagram while I waited - and made my way over to my PS3. I reached out to press the button to eject the disc before a jolt of electricity rushed through my left arm. Before I knew what was happening... I blacked out.

"A new toy to play vith..."

When I came to, I realised I was now the subject of many pairs of eyes all standing around me as I lay on what seemed to be a gravel surface. In a sudden rush of adrenaline, I tried to get up to run or at least put up a fight but my body felt heavy and battle worn. Their faces were obscured by the heavy rays of glowing moonlight as it shone directly above us. However, I noticed them all turn to look at one figure to the right.

"Do not try to move, fräulein. Jou are injured." The voice spoke in a thick German accent.

I felt my face crumple with confusion. The voice was eerily familiar. I gazed up at the moon as I lay my head back down - almost forgetting the people around me. The moon was unnaturally bright... and quadruple the size. That's not possible! My scientific musings were cut short; snapping me back to the present as the figure turned to bark orders to the one next to him.

"Dempshey, if you could shtop eyeing ze fräulein like a piece of meat -- for just one second -- MAKE YOURSHELF USEFUL AND GET TAKEO."