Into The Aether

Chapter Six: Company

I jumped out my skin and turned around in time to see the doctor emerge from the shadows. He walked slowly towards me like a predator about to go in for the kill.

"Jou do know zhose are bad for jou, ja?" He jested, nodding towards my cigarette.

"That's rich, you come from a time period where everyone does it", I said defiantly.

I took in a deliberately long drag and smugly puffed out the smoke whilst looking at Richtofen. He rolled his eyes at me and I returned the gesture. By now he was standing beside me looking out into the night sky. I took another draw of my cigarette which I was now midway through before flicking the ash behind me.

"I zhought jou vere a little smarter zhan zhat", he hissed with displeasure.

I thought it was best not to respond. In the absence of a clever retort, Richtofen moved closer to the makeshift bench but stopped short of sitting down. He remained silent as I took a quick glance at him. He stood proud with his hands behind his back.

As a fictional character, he was funny but now I could no longer ignore the fact he was a sadistic psychopath. I was just glad that I was used to being around his kind - I had been studying forensic psychology for 7 years now. And little did he know I was also a medical student. My thoughts were then interrupted by Richtofen.

"Zhe food vas nice", he said so quietly I almost missed it.

It clearly pained him to give me the compliment.

"Did I just get a--", I said smugly with a hand under my chin as I deliberately ended the sentence before saying the word.

"Nein! I shaid I vasn't nice", he snapped.

A smile crept across my face before I quickly extinguished it. I did not press him and just took the compliment. We remained in each other's company in silence. The cool breeze howled through the quiet landscape as a few minutes passed. Richtofen broke the silence and my attention was now quickly back on him.

"Tell me, do jou really think I believe jou are simply suffering from a concussion?"

"I suppose not", I replied curtly.

"Jou do realise I know zhat jou are vithholding information from me - vital information." He hissed as he turned to me.

"Look, if I told you I know for a fact you wouldn't believe me", I said before taking another drag of my cigarette.

Richtofen laughed to himself.

"Oh, my dear, I believe jou are mistaken..."

I looked at him trying to figure out how best to respond before I took a deep breath and decided to tell him enough to satisfy him - for now. I told him all about my time but I never told him about the game or how this world was fictional back in mine. I still wanted to withhold that which would give me leverage. He listened intently to every word and absorbed everything I had to say.

I took perverse delight in allowing him to think I was a brainless female as I was always quick to act dumb towards any questions he responded with that evening. Once I had finished, he finally sat down on a broken wall nearby.

"It has been so quiet vithout zhe cries of agony from mein patients", Richtofen sighed remorsefully.

I sensed he wanted me to remain silent and did so as we both took in the crisp air and looked out at the stars beyond.

He seemed to take comfort just being there next to me as I finished off my cigarette. He sat proud and upright as he thoughtfully took in the surroundings. I looked up at the sky and tried to spot any visible constellations before my eyes settled on Orion's belt - the only one I could ever find.

"Do jou enjoy looking at zhe stars?" he asked as if wanting to start a new conversation.

"I suppose everyone does but I really like space in general", I replied.

"Und vhat draws jou to it?" he said hastily.

He was beginning to sound like my shrink.

"It's ethereal and unknown", I replied, choosing my words carefully.

"Jou enjoy probing zhe mysteries of schience?" Richtofen fired back.

"Yes I do - very much", I said, waiting for him to get to the point he wanted to talk about.

"Don't jou ever vonder vhat is beyond zhis mundane existence?" He said as each reply I gave was replaced by another question.

"I do but some things aren't meant to be disturbed by mere humans", I said.

This earned a look of surprise as Richtofen tore his gaze away from the sky and over to me.

I knew exactly what he was talking about; he was using this conversation as a cover for it. But I felt relieved to know that maybe just maybe Richtofen was getting second thoughts about his Grand Scheme. I expected a smart ass reply from him but one never came. I took it as my queue to stand up and stamp out my cigarette before taking one last look at the sky.

"Vhat do jou find appealing about zhese... cigarettes?" He said scrunching up his face and taking the subject back to the mundane.

"There weren't any cigars available", I said as I walked back inside leaving Richtofen with a look of shock smeared across his face.

I was not sure if it was my candid response or the shock that a woman could actually enjoy cigars which caused Richtofen's look of horror - which was funny as neither hardly compared to the atrocious he had committed.

As I walked away I knew his opinion of me was beginning to change - that much I could tell. It was clear he saw all women as frail and meek but I doubt he thought any were capable of such apathy towards his threats and intimidation during our prior conversation in his office. No doubt he had been observing my interactions with the guys and analysing me all day before seeking me out for this talk. He was cold and calculating and he relied on this to try and size me up like he always did.

He was my favourite character in the game and even I surprised myself at being able to shed any fear of him. I could be calculating too, though. Especially when my life depended on it. There was no way he would have harmed me that night - not without knowing the mystery of my arrival.

And even now, I deliberately left out everything I truly knew and what would transpire once we left Der Riese... and his ultimate fate. He was only going to get what I was willing to tell him and it would be the leverage needed to ensure he would be obliged to keep me around.

He seemed satisfied with what I was willing to tell him as he too left to return to his quarters and mull over this new information.

When I returned to my bed by the fire; I passed out with exhaustion.

End of part six...