Into The Aether

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Like You

Richtofen stood by the window gazing out into the night as he recounted his time with Hans. He had buried his past life when he joined Group 935 - but the spectres of his past were slowly awakening. His heart weighed on him and his stomach felt hollow. It was cold quiet nights like tonight which made it impossible to evade these thoughts. The device he had now grown accustomed to lay on the desk nearby as it played another song - titled "Streets by Doja Cat".

"Like you,
Like you,
I found it hard to find someone like you"

Richtofen's heart began to ache as the music played. His chest constricted with each breath. A month had passed since their encounter in the projector room. Since they fled the theatre, no one dared to speak about it. Richtofen and his men had finally made their way to his secret facility in Passau - aptly named "Ragnarök".

He had chosen the name as it refers to great events which create a renewed earth, in Germanic mythology. The mood in the facility had been inescapably morose and melancholic and it wasn't about to let up any time soon.

"I can't sleep no more
In my head, we belong
And I can't be without you
Why can't I find no one like you?"

Richtofen closed his eyes as he recounted the moment the knife crashed down. The blade's razor sharp edge embedded itself into the wooden sill as the wood warped and splintered with the force.

Richtofen had hung his head and averted his eyes from Kiana's gaze. He let go of the knife which remained lodged in the wood. Before it had landed, Richtofen watched as Kiana's eyes clamped shut before she let out a terrifying shrill wail. The way her face contorted into a painful grimace, the terror in her voice - her anguish was too excruciating for him to bear.

Richtofen stood in silence - unable to say a word. Kiana breathlessly looked on in shock as she anticipated what he would do next. After what felt like an eternity, Richtofen took a deep breath before finally lifting his head and looking down at her.

"I told jou... I cannot hurt jou. I cannot bring meinshelf to do it. But still, jou do not trust me..." Richtofen whispered lowly before looking back down at the handcuffs which bound them together.

"Jou are going to have to do better zhen zhis if jou vant to shtop me", Richtofen added as he tried to force a smile which refused to form. Kiana remained silent as she tried to calm her ragged breathing.

Richtofen quietly produced a paperclip from his pocket before manipulating it and breaking it's original shape. After a few seconds, he expertly inserted the paperclip and wriggled it around. As the point of the paperclip slid around inside the mechanism of the cuff, it caught against a piece of metal. There was a satisfactory click before Richtofen shook off the cuff.

"Jou really zhought zhat zhese vould shtop me? I have buried meinshelf in all zhis papervork for years - mein pockets are alvays brimming vith paperclips", Richtofen decried as he gestured over to his desk full of papers. He had tried to joke at the latter in his usual hyperbolic manner but the heavy mood sullied any attempts to be light-hearted.

Kiana remained chained to the projector with the other cuff now dangling from her wrist. She knew Richtofen had no intention of freeing her but it was made all the more clear when he placed the paperclip back in his pocket. After breathing a heavy sigh, she finally looked up at him and spoke.

"What do you intend to do with me, doc?" Kiana said quietly. Richtofen looked down at her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders before whispering in her ear.