Prologue

Some days are just better than others.

With some you kind of know the moment you wake up that it's only going to go downhill from there, others come along in a more subtle manner. Over the course of 23 years I had had my fair share of both.

Until December 4th, 2012, though, I never knew what a truly crappy day could look like.

Probably because until that day I had never woken up freezing and disoriented, lying on the cold ground in the middle of a nightly forest that I had never been in before, horrified by the sound of gunshots and screaming in the air.

I don't know how it happened.

It was a Sunday afternoon just like any other. Outside my little apartment, the last light of another gray winter day was quickly fading. I remember I was working on a paper for one of my American literature classes, my TV turned on for mere company but muted so that it would not break my concentration.

It had been a slow week. University had kept me busy during exams and between that and my half time job of tutoring, I was almost too tired to properly see the letters I was typing out on my laptop. Another paragraph, then I yawned, stretching under my blanket. Deciding on a short break I glanced at the TV, smiling when I found that the formerly rather boring program had been replaced by a rerun of one of my all-time favorite shows since childhood, Hogan's Heroes.

I smiled, turning up the volume to be able to follow Colonel Hogan and his men as they managed yet another sabotage mission. Just as I was getting into the show, my phone suddenly rang.

"Hey, Elsa, what'cha doin'?"

Sarah.

"The usual. Studying while trying to pretend it's not winter out there and we're still on the beach."

Sarah laughed, "Tell me about it. I told you we shoulda stayed there."

Sarah and I had just returned from a semester spent -mostly- studying in California. It was a tough transition so far. There was just so much to miss: the climate, the culture, the big city life.

"So what are you really doing? I can hear the TV in the background."

I chuckled, "Yeah, you got me, I'm watching Hogan's Heroes."

"On TV? I didn't know that was still on. Are you watching it in German?"

"Hmpf," I frowned although she wouldn't be able to see it, "Of course. It's on TV, not my computer."

I felt a small pang of regret at that. I knew why Sarah was asking. It was odd watching the show in German; usually we both much preferred watching American shows with the original audio, especially since our stay abroad.

As a child, I had had no choice but to watch the show in German because of the language barrier, but now hearing American English was a comfort rather than a strain; a warm reminder of a culture that at times had been my home as much as the German one.

"It's kinda nice watching it now," I told Sarah, "Hogan and the others miss America, too. Somehow makes me feel integral to the story."

She laughed at me, "You wish. Admit it, you're just watching it because for some reason you're weirdly attracted to old guys."

"They're not old," I pouted, not denying anything. On the screen, Newkirk was on an outside mission. He was wearing a jacket that I could have sworn my grandfather owned as well. I focused on his face resolutely. "And I simply enjoy the show for its humorous elements."

"Right, and its educational value," Sarah scoffed, "Well, I'll leave you to your guys. I'll find a show with guys from this millennium to fawn over."

I watched the show for another while after she'd hung up, deciding to leave my paper for the next day. My eyes began to droop as I watched Sergeant Schultz usher the faux-prisoners out of their barracks, smiling tiredly as Hogan yet again managed to pull one over Klink. Silly and unrealistic as the setting was, I couldn't help but love the show, the humor, the actors, the whole universe...it was too bad I had been born too late to see them for real...

With that fleeting thought, I must have fallen asleep.

The next thing I knew, I wasn't in my apartment. I was in the woods, and I was freaking out, sure beyond all confusion that something had gone terribly wrong.

Thanks for giving this a shot so far. If anyone is interested I will continue it :)