James exerted force against the heavy door, causing it to creak open slowly. As the entrance widened, it revealed the room. His eyes immediately caught sight of a map of the building adorning the wall directly ahead.
On a nearby table, positioned just below the map, there were three boxes, accompanied by a small, grimy teddy bear that bore the evidence of some violent encounter, its fur stained with a disturbing shade of brown and red. Adjacent to the unsettling tableau was a worn three-seat sofa. An archway stood nearby, leading to the next room. The floor was scattered with debris and broken wall pieces. On the other side of the room, was a fence barricaded.
"That bear is creepy," Lois remarked.
"It is but, it is a sign that the box is not here," James replied.
"Box?" Lois questioned.
"It is a special suitcase which has weapons inside them, random but very powerful if we are lucky," James said. He smiled at Lois and pulled her into his arms. "With you I know I will be lucky," James added.
Lois smiled and giggled like a school girl inside. She thought he could drive her crazy. "James focus," Lois commented. At that moment, a zombie came limping across the room. Lois aimed her gun and fired it at the zombie. The bullet hit the zombie in the head and he collapsed on the ground. His eyes stopped glowing.
"Nice shot," James complimented with a nod of approval.
"Thank you," Lois acknowledged, a subtle smile playing on her lips.
Curiosity sparked in James as he inquired, "How did you develop such precise aim?"
Lois met his gaze, her eyes reflecting a mix of skill and nostalgia. "My father took the time to teach me," she replied.
"Carter Pewterschmidt?" James asked. He did not believe that he would do that.
"Yes, he did, father was a busy man but he took time to take care of his girls," Lois replied.
James thought, father, took time, care of his girls. That was not the Carter Pewterschmidt he had seen, in fact Lois did not have long hair going past her shoulders at this age. Did he visit an alternative version of Family guy? Either way he got what he came for so James could not complain.
"That is sweet," James said. Lois nodded. They walked around and could not see any gun on the floor or the wall. James walked to the left and looked out of the balcony. He could barely see theater seats. They were all out of place, broken and derelict. There was rust and the cotton was leaving the seats.
James thought of going down later and looking around. He heard gunshots, James rushed back into the main room and saw Lois had killed 5 more zombies. There was a pile of bodies lying on the floor. James noticed that the first zombie they had killed, the body was disappearing. Its arms and legs were missing. There was a black substance on it.
"It seems the bodies just disappear after a while," James observed.
"It looks like it," Lois responded. She pondered for a second.
"This place is creepy, we should leave soon," Lois added.
James acknowledged Lois' concern. "It is for sure, however there are a few things we need to do before we can leave and it will be worth it," James replied.
They walked down the hall into where they saw several portraits. There were 5 in total. To the far end they saw an old man wearing a white shirt and black tie. He was wearing a brown suit. He looked of German descent and had a large nose and small mouth. His eyes looked like they were scheming and had an ulterior motive. "That is Edward Richtofen, a German Nazi scientist," James said.
"He looks evil," Lois noted and added, "Nazi?"
"Yes Nazi, this world is in the past but also the present and future, time travel exists here and they go around fighting the undead," James explained.
"But he is still evil," Lois remarked.
James chuckled, "Evil is only perspective but he is a brilliant scientist."
They looked at the next photo. It was of a elderly Japanese man. He wore the uniform of a Japanese soldier. He had short hair and two average size ears. He had sharp eyes and a straight nose. He had a small thin moustache on his upper lip. He looked very serious.
"He is Takeo Masaki, a Japanese soldier, who speaks about honour and serving the emperor," James explained.
"The Emperor? He is a loyal person," Lois noted.
"He is but, the Emperor betrays him," James replied.
"How tragic," Lois said. There was sadness in her voice.
The next portrait was of a Russian man with a green hat with a star in the middle. He was wearing a large jacket. His face had wrinkles and he had a crooked nose. His mouth was small.
"Nikolai Belinski, a Russian who drinks a lot of vodka," James commented.
"Sounds and he looks like he fits the bill," Lois remarked.
"He was in war and who knows what he has gone through, vodka gives him happiness or a way to cope," James added.
She looked a little sad and replied, "That sounds awful."
At that moment a zombie slowly walked towards them. Lois aimed her gun and shot him in the forehead. He went down. James thought they were slow, but he did not mind that. They moved to the next portrait. He was an American with a buzz cut and large forehead. He had a large nose and small ears. He was wearing a brown shirt.
"Tank Dempsey embodies the American spirit," James said.
"He looks like a soldier," Lois observed.
"A soldier who came to save his fellow soldier and got captured," James explained.
"How noble," Lois said. She looked at James and walked to the blank portrait.
"Why is this one blank?" Lois asked. She was curious.
"Well, in this universe, that person will end the cycle, that being Primus Nikolai Belinski," James said.
"Cycle? Primus Nikolai Belinski?" Lois questioned. She was confused. Lois was still trying to process all this information. The zombies and transporting to the multiverse, she was still trying to get a grip with and now all this.
"Well," James said when suddenly three zombies came walking towards them. Lois aimed her gun and fired three bullets. They all hit the zombies on the head. Blood was splattered from their head as they went down. Their eyes stopped glowing.
"I can explain later, let's get out of here first," James said. Lois nodded.
They walked to the opposite side of the square room and saw another machine. "EL BURRO!" a jingle was heard. Lois giggled. They looked to see a large machine which had a red, white, and green paint job. It was on a white pedestal. In the front of the machine were red painted dots and ammo belts. There was a picture of a sombrero, moustache and two crossed ammo belts. On the left of that there were six empty bottle compartments aligned vertically. At the top was a quote that said "Mule Kick". Above that was a circular sign with the green gun icon. It looked like there were three guns.
"Mule Kick?" Lois questioned.
"Correct, this allows you to hold three weapons," James answered.
"But, I can already hold more than three guns," Lois remarked.
"That is true, but it can give other perks," James said. He hit a button on the machine and a bottle was dispensed. He opened the bottle lid and drank it down. James thought it tasted awful like usual.
"That was bad," James commented. Lois smiled looking at his facial expression changing.
"You take one as well," James offered.
Lois trusted James. They only knew each other for less than a few hours but she felt like she could trust him. She did not trust her ex this much. Then again he was stupid, not like James. She smiled and walked over. She pressed the same button and another drink bottle dispensed. Lois opened the bottle lid and looked at James. She made eye contact as she drank it. James could see her throat move as she drank the bottle down. She did not look away from James.
She finished it and smiled at James. "All finished," Lois remarked.
"You are a woman of many talents," James said. Lois smiled.
On the right side of the wall, they saw a poster. It was an old movie poster. There were a series of buildings in the background. To the front was a robotic woman. She was a purple woman, with a slim torso and large breasts. Her head was a triangle shape. The words, "Pygmalion," were written on the top.
"This is an interesting poster," Lois commented.
"It is a reference to an ancient Greek tale of Pygmalion, an artist who fell in love with one of his sculptures, which then came to life," James explained.
"Interesting, you sure do know a lot," Lois remarked.
"I do my research," James replied. "Let's go," James added. Lois nodded. They both made their way to the large wooden double door in front of them in the shape of an oval. James put his strength and pushed the door open.