Klaus cracked the eggs, dropping the yolks into an old ceramic bowl. Adding a splash of cream, he stirred in a mix of herbs and a pinch of salt. He then poured the eggs into the skillet that he had been lucky to find at the discount store last month.

While the eggs began to cook, Klaus set aside his spatula and pulled out his phone. Pulling up the last text from Bobby, he checked the time for the roleplaying session for the sixth time this morning. It still said one in the afternoon. With how busy everyone had been for the past few months, Klaus hadn’t seen his friends in quite a while. The text from Bobby late last night had been a nice surprise after a hard week studying the medicine textbook Klaus’ boss had let him borrow.

Sliding his phone back into his pocket, Klaus picked the spatula back up to stir his eggs. A pleasant smell swirled about the kitchen of his small, rundown apartment as he put the finishing touches on the scrambled eggs. A moment later they were just the way he liked them. Skillet in hand, Klaus turned off the stovetop and slid the eggs onto his plate next to the still-warm toast.

Sitting down at his small table, Klaus pushed his notes and last night’s dirty plates aside to make room for his breakfast. He would be the first to admit he probably should clean his small apartment more, but given how he was living by himself and had few, if any, visitors, Klaus saw little need most nights. Cleaning up a few times a week was just fine.

After scarfing down his morning meal, Klaus stepped over to the bookcase that held his most prized possessions. Towering from floor to ceiling, the wooden behemoth loomed out of place in his apartment. On its shelves were every book he owned, from dog-eared fantasy novels and RPG manuals to old history books and a biology textbook that had seen better days. He reached out and grabbed the character guide he needed before returning to his seat.

Idly flipping through the pages, Klaus couldn’t help smiling. It would be nice to start a new campaign. Finding the pages he was looking for, he set the open book on the table and pulled out a blank character sheet along with a few of his dice. It had been a long time since he had played a Paladin, but taking a break from playing a Rogue or a Sorcerer might be a fun change of pace.

With a few rolls of his dice, the stats of his new character were set, and now he got to have a bit of fun creating the background. Better to go as stereotypical as possible. Lawful Good alignment, a selfless mission to protect the innocent and defeat evil, and a tragic backstory. As he wrote down the story of a child left abandoned in a remote town by his uncaring parents, who then turned to becoming a Paladin to find a purpose in life, Klaus couldn’t help but make a soft laugh. His smile got wider at the imagined looks on the faces of his friends.

Fred and Bobby were murder hobos at heart, and their girls, Allison and Sara, were consummate anarchists. Having to deal with a diehard goody-two-shoes for the session today would let him have a lot of fun in his roleplaying.

The character sheet and background complete, Klaus packed up his backpack and made to leave his apartment. Before he could grasp the handle, his pocket began to buzz. Pulling out his phone, he checked the caller ID. Mom.

“Hello?”

“Good morning, sweetie!”

“Good morning, mom. How—” Klause began to respond before his mom cut him off.

“I’m sorry, Klaus, but we’re going to need some help after all.” His mom sounded mournful, but the fact she was asking in the first place meant she had already tried other options and now really needed his help.

His mind went back to the months and months of physical therapy he had to go through once he had made what the doctors had called a miraculous recovery from the mystery illness that had plagued him. His family’s insurance had been enough to cover the lion’s share of the medical costs of his treatments, but through a cruel twist of fate, his parents had to pay out of pocket for the physical therapy that followed. Even his siblings had helped, but it had almost not been enough even then. As things were, they were still paying off the debt, even though Klaus had gotten a job in construction for several years to try to help, which he had continued through college.

“Klaus?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking,” Klaus responded. “I can get you the money by Sunday. Does that work?”

“That’s perfect!” Klaus heard his dad asking for some help in the kitchen. “Sorry, sweetie, I have to go help your father with breakfast. Promise you will stop by tomorrow?”

“I will. Love you.”

“We love you too.”

Ending the call, Klaus pulled up his banking app. Glancing through his balance and pending bills made it quickly clear he had enough to help his parents, but the next week was going to be a bit tight. Looks like it was cheap ramen for the next few nights.

Stepping outside his apartment and closing the door behind him, Klaus again considered his financial situation. His second chance at life had pushed him to pursue his dream with an almost fanatical intensity. Or at least that is how his family had seen it. Klaus preferred diligent.

They had convinced him to do an internship first, however, just to make sure that he knew what he was getting into. While he didn’t have the background to do anything truly medical-based, he had been lucky enough to get a position as a temporary secretary to a doctor. In exchange for doing some clerical work and other administrative tasks, Dr. Halter had been willing to let Klaus shadow his practice. While not very well-paying, it had been very educational, as Dr. Halter had taken the time to begin teaching Klaus about his profession from the first day.

If he was being honest with himself, Klaus had grown comfortable in the position. He had been hesitating leaving to start his own path towards becoming a doctor. But the call from his mom, again reminding him of all the debt he had caused for his family, was what made up his mind. On Monday, he would talk with Dr. Halter about a letter of recommendation and he would apply to start medical school in the coming fall.

Mind made up, he locked his apartment and turned his thoughts back to the fun he would soon be having. Making his way down the pitted sidewalk, Klaus put aside his worries and plans for the coming week and just focused on the fact he would be spending time with his friends again. Bobby and his wife, Allison, were hosting at their place downtown. Klaus’ friends Fred and Sara were likely there already. Probably already coming up with crazy plans for the session. They really did like throwing Bobby through a loop. Klaus smiled at past memories. Tonight was going to be just like old times.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

Before he could make it that far down the sidewalk, the sound of trashbags being tossed around reached him from the alley behind his apartment building. Eyes glancing toward the source of the rustling, Klaus saw an older man dressed in rags riffling through the garbage cans.

Klaus sighed in regret. He had seen the man several times before, but each time he had offered help, even if just a hot meal, the man had run off in fear.

Stepping slowly in the direction of the man, making a bit of noise with his steps, Klaus tried to not startle him. Much like the times before, however, it was almost like he triggered some six sense, as before he took more than a few steps, the homeless man dropped the bags he was attempting to open and dashed back down the alley and out the other side.

Klaus sighed in regret. As much as he wished he might do something, he decided to leave him in peace for now. Perhaps he could bring some leftover snacks from his game night and leave them for the man later.

Putting thoughts of the man behind him for now, Klaus made his way down his apartment’s side street to one of the larger roads that ran through the city of Volksturm. His eyes turned to the buildings around him, again lamenting how he hadn’t been able to see the buildings when they had been new. A younger city in the United States, it had been built by the surge of German refugees that came to his country following the outbreak of World War III about thirty years ago.

From what he remembered from his history classes, China and Russia had formed a secret alliance that sought to exploit how thinly spread the United States and its allies had been in the face of the multiple wars going on at the time. No one was sure exactly why the war broke out when it did, but after the initial invasions had settled into stalemates that continued to today, a good portion of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Eastern Asia were wartorn wastelands.

What followed on the heels of that initial fighting was a tacit agreement on the part of both sides that the fighting would not end, but instead be controlled. Nuclear weapons and long-range bombers were set aside with soldiers, tanks, and unmanned drones, which had increased in popularity following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, instead taking prominence. Inevitably, or at least that is how his teacher had presented it, the fighting had turned into mostly frozen conflicts characterized by trenches and other fortifications that continued to expand year after year until neither side saw anything to gain by doing anything other but chipping away at their opponents. The last five years had continued that pattern, and while Klaus had registered for the draft like everyone else his age, so far it looked like that was as far as he would have to go.

Shaking his head, he turned his thoughts back to the city itself. The draining nature of the war had led many to get as far away from the frontlines as possible in those early days, his own grandparents among them. Klaus’ eyes again strayed to the buildings around him. The once-grand buildings were designed to mimic those of Hamburg back in Germany, but now they stood but a shadow of their former glory. Weathered and worn, their facades were marred by time and neglect. Brickwork was crumbling, and as Klaus turned around the corner of an apartment near his own, a new batch of graffiti traced its way in indescribable gibberish up the pitted wall next to him.

While Klaus recognized the whole city wasn’t quite as bad as the area he lived in, and that many of the interior apartments themselves were still nice and taken care of, it still seemed like each passing year showed the city to be getting just the slightest bit worse. Like the soul of Volksturm was rusting away.

Indeed, everywhere one looked in the country, it seemed crime and corruption were on the rise. The news was always filled with stories of violence and injustice, to the point that Klaus refused to watch any of those kinds of programs anymore. Doing so had only made him feel more powerless.

An epiphany struck him, one that he had been dancing around for a while now, but only emerged all at once in this moment. Becoming a doctor was his way of pushing back against the darkness, of working to heal a small pocket of light in a world increasingly consumed by shadows. For Klaus, the prospect of being able to heal the sick and mend the broken was a way to make a difference, however small, in the lives of those who needed it most. Even if, at the end of the day, things would likely continue getting worse in Volksturm.

Klaus shook the depressing thoughts away. Yes, the city was in rough shape. Yes, there were also homeless people here and there as well as a surge in crime lately.

But there was more than that.

People still went about their lives doing the best they could. For every homeless person or criminal there was another handful of people doing their best to help others as much as they could. Klaus himself included himself among that latter group. Apart from his work with Dr. Halter, he volunteered where and when he could. His parents did the same, despite the debt.

He would be doing more too once he became a doctor. But that was a thought for next week. Right now was a time for fun and catching up with friends.

Mind now a blur with fond memories, Klaus moved to step off the curb at a crosswalk, only to have a vicelike grip seize his shoulder to pull him back. Barely were his feet back underneath him when a rusted car with both headlights out went screeching around the corner, heavy metal body flying through the space he had been but a moment away from walking through. A truck from the other side of the intersection slammed its brakes and let out an indignant honk as the other vehicle went barreling past, not hesitating even a moment in its breakneck pace. Klaus’ almost death disappeared down the road.

“You alright, boy?”

Klaus turned to the man whose hand still rested on his shoulder. No sooner did his eyes glance down to that firm grip than his savior released him, hand going back down to his side. Ragged hair crowned a gaunt face, and his large body was obscured by a heavy trenchcoat. Brown eyes stared into his own green ones as Klaus responded.

“Yes, I think so,” Klaus said with a nod. “Thank you for that. I guess I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I completely missed how fast that car was moving.”

“Not a problem.” The man nodded, his expression one of concern mixed with just a hint of curiosity. It looked strange on such a severe face, marred as it was by the hint of a scar down one stark cheekbone. “Mind if I ask what had you so preoccupied?”

Klaus hesitated for a long moment, weighing whether he wanted to divulge his thoughts to a stranger. But there was something about the man’s eyes, and his expression of interest, that put Klaus at ease. His gut told him to trust the man.

“It’s complicated…” Klaus said, his voice trailing off as he realized he didn’t want to get much more personal than that. “Just some personal issues I’ve been trying to sort through.”

The man nodded again, his brows furrowing slightly in apparent understanding. “Life can be like that sometimes, throwing unexpected challenges our way when we least expect them.”

Klaus grunted an agreement, grateful for the stranger’s empathy. “It’s been a rough patch lately, but I’m working on getting through it.”

“That is the spirit,” the man said, an encouraging smile lighting up his face, revealing slightly pointed teeth. “Remember, no matter how dark things may seem, or how difficult our changing circumstances might be, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel so long as we keep walking.”

Klaus found himself in silent agreement with the stranger’s words, a small sense of comfort washing over him. “Thank you,” he sincerely replied. “I’ll remember that.”

The man clasped Klaus’ shoulder once more, albeit this time in a more gentle manner. “You do that. And remember: you are never alone. There will always be people willing to lend you a helping hand. Sometimes you just have to ask.”

With those words lingering in the air behind him, Klaus watched the man step away, quickly disappearing beyond a crowd of people coming down the sidewalk. A bit strange, but Klaus would remember his words all the same.

The crosswalk chimed again, though this time Klaus made sure to glance both ways down the street before stepping off the curb. Not a handful of minutes later he was finally in front of Bobby’s apartment.