Some time before the train ride...

It had been a few months since the Fall of Berlin. The rest of Europe rapidly fell to the BETA hordes. While nuclear mines planted in the event of the Line collapsing slowed the BETA down initially, their sheer numbers allowed them to keep marching, inexorably forward to the furthest reaches of Europe. Currently, there was still a resistance in France but the BETA were slowly but surely pushing them back. Theo gave them a few more weeks before the only thing left of human life in Europe were coastal forts.

For his part, Theodor was settling into his new life in Great Britain. After the fall of the DDR, him and Anett were no longer required to be soldiers. They took this opportunity to retire from the military life. Theo hoped he would find Katia waiting for him in Great Britain. And Anett...

Theodor could still remember the feel of her in that cramped room they shared in the refugee building. That soft feminine scent despite everything she had gone through. Her behavior then should have been a warning for what was to come. She was asking for someone, anyone to help her. Save her.

He closed his eyes. What was done was done. There were no redos in this life, he knew that all too well. He had lost contact with her once they made landfall in Britain although he kept an ear out for news of her. What little he found was not good. No doubt trying to drown her sorrows, she indulged in sex, alcohol and drugs. It didn't take an expert to tell that she was in a self-destructive downwards spiral. Perhaps he could...

"Focus!" he hissed as he slapped his cheeks lightly.

He opened his eyes and once again stared down the massive stack of newspapers he had gathered and laid down on his table. Multiple publications all covering the same time period, the months between the fall and his arrival in Britain. He had promised Irisdina he would protect Katia. He even promised Katia herself. Yet when she needed him to protect her the most, he had failed. And now he wasn't even sure if she was alive, dead or worse.

He sifted through the massive amounts of information. It reminded him of his days in the DDR when he was hunting down information about Katia's father. He supposed one good thing about the West was that he wasn't risking arrest this time.

However, just like all the other times he had done this, his search bore no fruits. All the publications repeated the same things. The coup d'etat, the daughter of the revolutionary hero general, the fall of the Line and the disappearance of Saint Ursula. No one had any further information. He supposed if he had stayed in the military, he would have had more information available to view.

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

He violently shook his head. Never again. He had already seen what happened to his comrades. To Anett. He would never return to that world.

Leaning back in his chair, he reached for the remote and turned on his TV. He had a headache and needed some white noise in the background to clear his head. Maybe fall asleep without those screams...

The TV turned on, already on a news channel. Some special report on the European Front was on. Probably to raise morale and show that humanity could stand up against the BETA hordes. Theodor couldn't help but chuckle in a dark amusement. He supposed it helped civilians pretend that everything would be okay. Theodor closed his eyes.

"...beat them back!" a soldier said on the program "The Saint was with us. There was no way we could die!"

----------------------------------------

And with that, Theo's eyes snapped open and he was greeted with the sight of the train cabin.

The knock on his cabin door woke Theodor. At some point he must have fallen asleep, thinking of past events.

"Sir, we have arrived at our destination," the conductor told him.

"Ah, thank you," Theodor replied somewhat shakily.

He stood up, took his baggage and exited the cabin. Although it wasn't that much of a lead, he had followed that lead obsessively. Three years later and many trips between the European mainland and Britain, Theodor was finally sure he located Katia. The evidence lead him to where he is now, the city of Caen. With humanity being pushed back, this was currently one of the most populous cities in the European mainland. The commune transformed citadel was filled to bursting with refugees from all over Europe who couldn't pay for the trip over to Britain, America or whatever other country would take them, begging for money to make the trip. Or perhaps just to shut out the world for another day. He had heard of how seedy the city had become and with his brief experience as a refugee, he wasn't surprised at all.

Stepping out of the train station, Theodor adjusted the tie on his suit. He had taken to wearing them but felt like he hadn't exactly mastered the look just yet. He caught a reflection of himself breathing out mist. It had started getting cold. It reminded him of those days.

He ran his hand through his hair to clear his thoughts.

"Perhaps I should start styling this better, I'm not a teenager anymore," he thought to himself.