Changed the name for this story, came up with something better. (Well my other half did anyhoo) This follows the Zombie story as you know it, but obviously in my own more in depth way :)

Just a short introduction to "Knee Deep in the Dead". Pleas if your enjoying these stories take the time to review!

The weight upon my shoulder felt like nothing as we carried the casket through the high archways of the church into the thick mist that had descended over sleepy village myself and Rosalyn had once called home. The place I had intended to spend our lives, somewhere that I remembered Rosalyn loved, so it was there she would remain.

I walked down the steps slowly timing my steps with those of the other pallbearers, my mind numb from everything, my speed being dictated by Rosalyn's Father to my right. I felt as thought I was having an outer body experience. The act of burial highlighting the fact I was alone. Truly alone in the world. They had been unable to find our child. The only thing keeping me sane was Rosalyn's final words, they echoed through my head whenever I thought of her and my child, my dreams filled with mysterious shadows, running from me with my baby girl.

We followed the path from the Church, the crunch of the gravel path seemed so loud in my ears due to the otherwise silence from the small and intimate crowd that had gathered to say goodbye. We stopped and turned down and started walking across the grass to where the open grave lay in wait for her. My heart started hammering in anticipation. We lay her casket to the left hand side of the grave. I looked up to the headstone which had kindly been funded by Maxis with no expense spared. It featured an angel, her face hidden leaning over what appeared to be a pyramid that bore her name. Her name had caused a bit of a argument between myself and her father. I had wanted my name there, but in the end I had allowed him to win over. It had meant however that there was no mention of me on the stone. Of this I was angry, but upon seeing the beautifully carved figure that would look over her until the end of time I was happy, happy that she was loved by others as much as I loved her, and that was all that mattered. I looked at her father who's brows were still knitted with anger and frustration, it only got worse when he looked at me, the purpling bruise over my left eye reminding him of what had happened during the ceremony.

The doors banged open, I turned ready to reprimand whoever it was returning who was so careless. I was shocked to see Friedrich stood there a big smirk rising on his face as he took in my angry stare. I looked back to the front, breathing deeply and counting to ten in an effort to calm myself. I heard his footsteps as he walked down towards the front, he stopped just behind me and chose to sit directly behind me. The vicar continued the service, I waited with bated breath for what he wanted to say, you see, professionally, Steiner and myself got on, but in reality that couldn't have been further from the truth. Although it was years ago now we had clashed over Rosalyn as I we had been courting, his constant suggestion's to her had caused many an argument before.

I heard the pew creak as he leant forward, his breath tickling the back of my neck, the hairs standing up under the collar of my pristine Wehrmacht jacket.

"I take it that the lack of child means that either it died, or is missing." He whispered, his voiced filled with a kind of angry glee. I grit my teeth against responding, fixing my eyes to the front but not really seeing anything.

"Either way, I might have some information for you that you may find. Interesting." He hissed when I didn't respond. That got my attention. I rose from my seat and turned grabbing the man by his collar and dragging him up too, I pulled him towards the back of the church, he pulled us to a stop, wrenching his own uniform out of my grasp and straightening it, glaring at me. He started striding down the aisle under his own steam. I followed, I passed Maxis, Sophia and Samantha as we walked, Maxis throwing me a confused look which I ignored. Following Steiner we exited the church. I was about to say something when he handed me a manilla envelope. I shot him a look of disdain before ripping it open. It held the medical records and files of a young Russian girl. I looked at it for a moment before finally using my voice.

"What the hell has this got to do with anything? Why are you even here?" I asked, trying to keep my temper down still.

"She left the ship with Rosalyn." He said simply, knowing all too well it would take seconds for me to make the rest of the links. My brain reeled with the information, I looked again at the papers and the picture. I found myself dismayed that my child may have been left in the hands of someone nearly half my own age. But if Rosalyn trusted her, there must be a reason. I looked back up to Friedrich, who had a somewhat triumphant look on his face.

"You know." He began, stepping closer, not speaking again until he was inches away from my face. I could feel the heat of his breath on my face. "None of this would have happened if you had stepped aside and let me have her."

That did it, I dropped the papers from my hand and balled my fist, swinging it up to connect but he anticipated the blow, his only goal was to goad me into this kind of reaction. He ducked and the force I had put behind it took me off balance, he swung himself, his shot connecting with the side of my face. I shook my head recovering and went for another blow before being pulled back by someone behind me. Maxis flung me back before stepping up to Friedrich, his face filled with anger. Clearly this had been something he hadn't banked on as he recoiled very slightly.

"Clear off, you have no right to be here." Ludwig growled, clearly as unhappy of his presence as I was. Friedrich shot him a glare before turning around to leave. His departing words cutting through me.

"You know its true Edward."

The minister concluded the final goodbyes as the casket was lowered into the ground, tears pricked my eyes as I watched her descend before the beautiful stone angel. I small tug on my trouser leg made me turn around. Samantha was stood, holding the teddy she always carried and a rose her eyes looked dull and sad. Although young Sophia had had trouble persuading the little girl not to come, she had wanted to say goodbye to "Edward's nice lady". Rosalyn had met her a day or two before leaving and Samantha had practically never left her, enjoying how Rosalyn had interacted with her. Instinctively I picked her up and we both watched as she descended, it was a strange sensation I felt, as though I was missing something, and Samantha played the role to fill in that emptiness, and for that I was glad of the child's innocence. I could pretend just for a moment that she was mine. When time came to fill in the grave Sam handed me the Rose still within her grasp. I took it from her and threw it on top of the casket. We watched as they began to fill in and people began to depart. Words cannot describe the beginnings of the mix of emotions I felt, I stayed until everyone else apart from Sophia had left, clearly waiting to take Sam from me. When I handed her back a miniature pang of loss rang through me.

Der Riese

23rd July 1939

4:12 am

The machine before us whirred into life. Glowing with a blue light that cast eerie shadows behind it. I took a step back, content that it was finally working, the machine buzzed, in the distance I heard the generators pick up to deal with the increased voltage required to power it, I made a mental note to come up with a solution for this. Porter jumped awake from his slumped position against the wall, the looked blearily at the machine, then at me, then at out side before grumbling quietly as he rose to his feet, stretching out his joints. He made his way over sleepily.

"God dammit Edward, what time is it?" He mumbled, letting out a wide yawn.

"Dunno." I replied, genuinely not caring in the slightest. I heard him sigh before looking up at the clock and bleating out a string of expletives probably aimed at my neglect of not leaving the lab earlier before stomping out and slamming the door shut. Yeah I should have gone to bed quite a few hours ago. But I had been struggling to sleep, my weight had also plummeted, leaving me a shadow of the man I used to be. I was unconsciously alienating people from my life. I was, in short a wreck, the only thing that had been keeping me busy had been this Teleporter project. Now I had completed it however, I had been left with the thoughts that I had been so desperately trying to avoid. I reached inside my jacket where I kept the papers of that Belinski girl. I started picking apart the information looking for anything that might give me clues of where to find her, however upon discovering her Mother had been killed by her Father who was now probably dead courtesy of his deployment to the front lines I had nothing to go on. I balled my fist in anger, crunching the paper and slumped down on the concrete, eventually falling to sleep as the sun began to rise.