Chapter 7: Speed Cola

James opened the door and they saw an old dusty staircase going in a zig zag. They walked down the stairs. Half way down, they saw the same "Pygmalion," poster again. 

"This looks popular," Lois remarked. James nodded. They got down one flight of stairs and entered a large room. They could see a guard rail in front of them. They walked to it and saw the floor below. There were two large staircases which led to the bottom floor. The bottom floor had a broken table and the same map on the wall which they saw in the other room. Beneath, the map was the same small boxes and teddy bear. There were several Nazi flags on the wall. 

"This looks like the Foyer," James observed. 

"Let's go down," James added. Lois nodded. They both went down the right-side staircase. Lois held her gun out as they moved down. James had the Desert Eagle in his hand. He noticed that the Ultimatrix still was red. He thought he needed to get his wishes to fix this problem. 

They moved their way down when suddenly a zombie had jumped from a hole in the wall. He had fallen over and face-planted on the ground. Lois took aim and shot a bullet and hit his ear. His head rocked and his body collapsed. His eyes stopped glowing. 

They got to the bottom of the stairs and saw a gun on the floor. James picked it up. He looked at the gun. He smiled. "MP40," James remarked. The MP40 was a compact and lightweight gun. It had a folding metal stock and a tubular receiver with a perforated cooling jacket that wrapped around the barrel. It had a long stick magazine on the bottom of the gun.

"We are finding guns all over the place today," Lois said. 

He held the gun out and noticed there was only one magazine with him. He thought this is not that useful, he needs to find more ammunition for his guns. They are all different types as well, which could be a challenge. However, he wanted to collect so he is taking it with him. He smiled. 

They got near the teddy and looked at it. It was creepy. They looked in the opposite direction and saw a bright green rectangular machine. 

Approaching the unsettling teddy bear, they looked at its eerie presence. It sent shivers down their spines. James thought where is the box. The lights on the map don't even work since power is off. They decided to divert their attention, and turned away, only to encounter a bright green rectangular machine in the opposite direction. 

"Looks like we found another machine," Lois noted.

"Yes, we did and this is a good one," Jame replied. He knew all of them had their strength and weakness but this one is a must have. They walked closer to the machine. "Speed Cola speeds up your life," they heard the jingle from the machine. The machine was large, with a green and white paint job. In the front of the machine, it was written "Drink Speed Cola" and "Ice Cold". There was a coin slot and a dispenser for the bottles. To the right there were 6 compartments for holding bottles. 

"So what mysterious power does this give?" Lois asked. There was a hint of excitement in her voice. Although, the last two right now showed no abilities.

James hit the machine button. A bottle was dispensed at the bottom. It was a green glass bottle with green liquid. James picked it up and gave it to Lois. He pressed the button on the machine and another bottle dispensed. James picked it up.

"Cheers," James offered, raising his bottle.

"Cheers," Lois echoed, their bottles clinking together in a toast.

They both emptied their bottles, and Lois placed hers on the table. "This tasted awful," she remarked, her dissatisfaction evident.

"It does not get better," James concurred, a wry smile forming as they shared a moment of mutual agreement on the beverage's lackluster quality.

"Try reloading your gun now," James suggested.

"Why? There are still bullets in the magazine," Lois observed.

"You will see," James cryptically added.

Lois swiftly extracted the magazine from her M4, the metallic clink echoing in the hushed atmosphere of the room. She rapidly reached for a fresh magazine from her pocket. The crisp sound of rounds sliding into place punctuated the air as she reloaded quickly. 

Lois found herself taken aback. "You see?" James inquired.

Surprised, Lois responded, "Yes, I'm astonished at how fast my reload was." Her tone carried a mixture of amazement and curiosity, as she processed the unexpected efficiency of her firearm. 

"This is the power of these machines," James replied. 

"Incredible," Lois remarked. 

"So the other two have some ability as well," Lois added.

"They do and time will tell," James said. He wondered what they could be. At that moment, a group of 4 zombies came walking towards them. They dragged their feet across the floor. Lois aimed her gun and fired three bullets. They all hit them in the head and they went down. James aimed his gun and fired his Desert Eagle. He fired one shot and it hit the zombie on the chest. He stumbled back and tripped over and landed on his back. His eyes stopped glowing. All four zombies were down. 

"Let's keep moving," James directed. Lois nodded. They both made their way forward towards the large double door. They saw zombies coming from the left and right. Lois aimed for the left and fired her gun. She fired five shots and hit all five zombies on the left side in the head. They went down.

James fired 4 shots from his gun and hit two of the bullets on target. The two zombies were hit and they went down. He thought he needed to work on his aim. Where is Dead shot when you need it. 

"Lois cover me," James ordered. 

Lois nodded. James noticed the zombies were increasing so he was taking caution. Lois scanned around and did not see any zombies. James pushed the door open. They saw abandoned places with trash and mold everywhere. The backstage area had scattered props, creating an atmosphere of eerie abandonment. Flickering lights cast sporadic shadows on dressing room mirrors adorned with cracked glass. Torn curtains hang loosely, and old costumes litter the floor. The dressing rooms themselves were small and cluttered, with makeup tables having bottles split, wardrobes, and discarded costumes.

"This place stinks and is such a mess," Lois said.

"It does, let's move quickly through this, zombies can trap us here," James stated. 

James and Lois moved through the room. They saw another gun on the floor. James went and picked it up. He held the gun in the air. "MP5K," James remarked. The MP5K featured a short and sturdy design. It had a retractable stock. The magazine was a long slim stick. It was equipped with iron sights.

"We should have brought the suitcase with us," James remarked. 

"I can go get it," Lois offered. 

"We will loop around so we can pick it up," James replied. 

At that time three zombies came towards them. Lois aimed her gun and fired three bullets. She hit all three shots and they went down. James was impressed that Lois had such good aim. He knew from the family guy special, she used guns to kill Stewie and cartoon logic made her good with guns but here she was phenomenal. He was going to reward her once they were out, he thought.