Wizards: Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 9: The End….
October 31st, 1997….
It was a cool and crisp Halloween morning. In their apartment, Elsa was in the bathroom with her head in the toilet, the sound of retching coming from the bowl.
It was clear she had a bad case of morning sickness.
Albert came in and gave her a gentle pat on the back and asked, "you want me to call your boss and tell him that you won't be in?"
Elsa looked up at him and said, "yes please, Albert."
Albert then left the bathroom as Elsa retched again. They had their radio on and a public announcement was being made about dead bodies in the house.
The announcer was saying, "if anyone dies while you are kept in your fallout shelter, move the body to another room in the house. Label the body with name and address, and cover it as tightly as possible in polythene, sheets or blankets. If, however, you've had a body in the house for more than five days *and* if it is safe to go outside, then you should bury the body for the time being in a trench or cover it with earth, and mark the spot of the burial."
Albert sighed and muttered, "this crap just keeps getting worse all the time."
But what Albert didn't know was that in a couple of hours, the crap would get even worse. Much…. MUCH worse.
And he, Elsa and their child would be some of the few to survive the events.
An hour later, Albert was at work, whilst Elsa was visiting her father and aunt. The day was going normal as Elsa was having breakfast with them. They had the radio on. It was giving an update on the situation between the Western and Communist Nations.
The news announcer said, "it is 9:00 AM here in West Germany, it is 4:00 in the morning in Washington. Over the past four days, neither President Clinton nor his senior staff have had any more than a few hours' rest. This is when they may be asleep, this is when Western response will be slowest."
Elsa muttered, "this whole situation is gonna have everyone on edge all day."
Helga agreed with her niece and said, "I just hope that nothing happens."
Elsa and Stefan could only agree with Helga's words, hoping that things wouldn't get worse was a great hope for everyone right now. However, unbeknownst to everyone, in just half an hour, their hope would tragically be in vain.
For it was when Xenia Onnatopp would make her move!
Meanwhile, over in the fallout shelter under city hall, Mayor Heinrich and his staff were going over the rationing papers. Due to the crisis between the Western and Communist Nations, it was felt that a rationing system be put into place incase of the ever growing event of war breaking out.
Mayor Heinrich was giving a report on it, "as we expected, all the supermarket shelves are empty, but we've managed to get the warehouses under control by the police. As of yet we haven't located all of the root vegetable clumps on local farms, but stocks of sugar, wheat, flour and rice are quite good."
The others around him nodded as they wrote this information down.
But then whilst they were writing their notes down, the thing that they hoped would never happen, happened. The warning system began to sound as a voice began to speak.
The voice said, "Attack Warning Red, Attack Warning Red."
The entire room felt as if it was dipped in ice from the utter fear that filled it.
Mayor Heinrich asked in horror, "is it for real?"
Commissioner Otto only confirmed his fears by saying, "attack warnings for bloody real."
Although Mayor Heinrich was horrified, he knew that he had to remain calm. Going into a full blown panic wasn't going to help things any bit at all.
He then began to give orders to his staff, "right, seal the doors to the bunker and get the generator going."
Everyone sprung into action, doing their best to follow Heinrich's orders.
As they took their places a staff member was on the phone, he was asking, "I want, as soon as you can, every single scrap of information you have on casualties."
Heinrich sighed and rubbed his temples to soothe his frazzled nerves.
….
Meanwhile, in West Berlin….
Albert and his co-worker, Edward, were having an argument with a group of people. They had come into the joinery yard and were asked for some lumber. However, Albert and Edward weren't allowed to sell them any.
Albert was on top of the truck shouting at them, "look, I'm sorry, but you are going to have to see the boss about. This is a bloody joinery, not a timber yard."
This only continued to further anger the group!
An angry man shouted, "I don't want to see you fucking boss, I just want some fucking timber. Is that too much to ask for?"
Albert countered, "with all of the shit going on right now, I dunno!"
But just before things could get anymore heated, it happened. As Albert and the man were arguing, the nuclear attack siren began to wail, the group stopped their rowing and listened to the wail of the siren.
Everyone began to panic!
Except for Albert.
He was only thinking of one thing.
'Elsa…. I gotta find her!'
But before he could do anything, Edward grabbed and pulled him under the truck.
Albert yelled, "let go of me, I have to get to Elsa!"
Edward yelled, "are you crazy?! You'll die if you leave!"
Albert said, "I won't, I'm going to Elsa and that's final."
Albert pulled away and ran for his car!
Edward yelled, "Albert!"
But Albert didn't listen as he jumped into his car and started it up!
Meanwhile, out in the streets, it was complete and utter chaos. The crowds were in a full blown panic, there was screaming and shouting. People were pushing, shoving and even being trampled to death in an attempt to find shelter. Mothers pulled their toddlers out of their prams and dashing off with them in their arms, some car drivers were racing along the roads in a reckless attempt to get to safety.
Albert was among the carnage, trying to get back to Elsa as fast as he could!
But just as he was, there was a blinding bright light. The light blinded Albert and caused him to lost control of his car and crash into a wall, stunning him. A single nuclear warhead had exploded over the North Sea and the electromagnetic pulse that it released caused massive burnouts to all electrical objects. Powerlines, car batteries, telephone lines and even simple household objects like irons and televisions blew. As a result, massive damage was done to communications across West Germany, Great Britain and North West Europe.
….
In the fallout shelter under city hall, all power went out. Mayor Heinrich and his staff then struggled to get the back up power going.
Mayor Heinrich asked, "is everything dead?"
Commissioner Otto confirmed it, "yes Sir, but we'll soon have the back up power going."
Mayor Heinrich then shouted, "I want it up and running now!"
Commissioner Otto nodded and said, "right away Sir."
Heinrich grabbed a paper bag to breathe in and out of to calm himself down in this very stressful situation.
….
Meanwhile, above ground, a couple miles away from West Berlin, the NATO base was on high alert. They had just received word that the Communist Powers had declared war on the Western Powers, they were now on full alert. However, just as they were launching their jets, the base was struck by a salvo missile. From the city, the people could see the mushroom shaped cloud rising in the distance.
War had pretty much begun, and everything was in utter chaos!
….
At the Hoffman's house, Stefan, Hanna and Elsa all ran outside to see the situation. Their eyes widened in horror to see the mushroom cloud rising in the distance, the NATO base having been completely destroyed and its soldiers' instantly vaporized.
Elsa muttered, "oh God…."
Stefan said, completely horrified, "Jesus, Mary and Joseph they've done it, they've really done it!"
Hanna shouted in despair, "you maniacs, you blew it up. Damn you, God damn you all to Hell!"
Elsa yelled, "I have to find Albert!"
Stefan, however, grabbed her and dragged her into the house and said, "I'm sorry Elsa, but I'm not letting you risk yourself or the baby."
Elsa cried, "no! Please! I need to find Albert!"
Stefan said, "if he's alive then he'll find us, not get in the house."
Elsa cried as she reluctantly ran inside with her family.
Meanwhile, back in the city, Albert had just regained consciousness. He tried to get his car started, but its battery had been burned out by the electromagnetic pulse.
He yelled, "fuck! Shit! Ngh, I gotta get to Elsa!"
Albert then got out of his Ford Maverick and began fighting his way through the crowd, he was going to get to Elsa no matter what. Nuclear war or not, he wasn't going to give up on her. The same went for his unborn baby!
He wasn't gonna stop until he got to them!
….
Meanwhile, in the Wagner house….
Klaus and Mila were both frantically trying to help Klaus's parents into the basement. When the siren began wailing, they both immediately grabbed the old couple and helped them down the stairs and to the basement.
Klaus saw Anna and shouted, "Anna, come and help your grandparents!"
Anna yelled, "I'm coming, dad!"
She ran over to help them.
Meanwhile over at Ralf and Helga's house, the two of them were frantically trying to barricade their door with a mattress and several other things.
Ralf shouted, "quick Helga, pass me those wooden props."
Helga frantically nodded and grabbed as much wood as she could.
But just as she grabbed the first prop, she quickly looked around the room and noticed that Bruno wasn't there.
She yelled, "Bruno?! Bruno!? BRUNO!"
Outside in their bird cage, Bruno had pressed himself up in the corner, crying in fear as the birds flew around him in panic.
He cried, "I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!"
In the the house Helga was beginning to tear down the barrier in an attempt to get to Bruno, Ralf saw what she was doing and tried to stop her.
He yelled, "Helga, don't go out there!"
But Helga instead yelled at him, "but what about Bruno?"
Ralf was in a tough spot. He didn't wanna let any of them die!
But suddenly, before they could do anything, the curtains in the room burst into flames. Outside on the street, trees began to catch fire as well, milk bottles that had been left out began to melt. In the Hoffman's house, Gunter's Star Wars action figures then melted into a puddle of goo. Luckily, Gunter wasn't there to see it happen.
….
In the Wagner's house, Klaus' mothers clothes caught fire, causing her to shriek in pain. Klaus and Mila grabbed some blankets whilst Anna grabbed some water in an attempt to extinguish the flames.
But then things got even worse. Without warning, the side of the house collapsed into rubble, but it wasn't just their house. All over West Berlin, buildings were blown apart, with people being crushed to death by the debris. Albert, who was racing back to Elsa, managed to avoid being crushed by diving for cover. He then got back on his feet and when he looked around he was horrified. All around him a firestorm was raging, people who had caught fire were trying in vain to extinguish it but mostly to no avail.
He tried to work past the utter shock and terror he felt and ran as fast as he could, desperate to find Elsa!
….
Meanwhile, over in New York City….
The situation was worse. Karl and Gunter were with their girlfriends Jennifer and Tammy at the top of the World Trade Center. They had originally planned to fly out to San Diego to begin their UFO trip, however, the flight had been delayed by two days and so they decided to kill the two days by having a sightseeing trip around Manhattan.
However, whilst looking out at New York from the World Trade Center, the air raid siren began. Whilst the crowds in the streets went into full panic mode trying to make for the shelters, Karl, Gunter, Jennifer and Tammy remained calm during the whole ordeal. The reason was because they were at the top of the World Trade Center, they knew that they had no hope of getting down in time. They all looked at each other with despair and acceptance.
They knew that they weren't going to survive this. But as long as they were together, they'd pass into the next life together.
Gunter then turned to his older brother and said, "I hope that Albert, Elsa and our niece or nephew survive this."
Karl gave a sad smile and said, "I'm sure they will. They're survivors…. And if and when they do pass on…. At least we'll be there to greet them."
Jennifer then spoke up, "how about we all hold each other until the bomb hits?"
Gunter, Karl and Tammy nod.
Tammy then asked, "if anyone else wants to join in should we let them?"
The others nodded in agreement.
Just then a voice spoke from behind them, "is it okay? I may join you kids?"
Karl, Jennifer, Gunter and Tammy turned around to see who it was, their eyes briefly widened when they saw who it was. It was famed Ghostbuster actor, Billy Murray himself.
They were shocked to see such a big Hollywood actor there in the flesh.
However they noticed that Bill Murray had a rather defeated look on his face. He knew that like them he wasn't going to survive this, but at the same time he didn't want to die alone.
He then asked again, "is it okay if I joined you kids, because I actually don't want to go through this alone?"
The kids nodded as Gunter said, "sure thing, Bill. Sure thing."
Touched at their kindness, Karl, Jennifer, Günter and Tammy let Bill Murray join in their embrace. A minute later they head a whizzing noise coming from the sky, they looked up and saw the warhead heading right for them.
They all closed their eyes and awaited their end….
….
Meanwhile, back in Germany….
A very familiar Dragon was watching Berlin burn from a safe distance. He was deeply horrified by the events unfolding before him.
So many innocents had their lives ended before their time was up.
He whispered to himself, "Albert…. Elsa…. Wherever you are…. I hope you survive this madness…."
The Great Dragon remembered Klaus telling him about nuclear radiation and that it was deadly. He knew that if he didn't leave now, then he would get radiation sickness and that would surely kill him.
He had to take to the air, find a safe place to escape the radiation.
….
Several hours later….
The firestorm was still raging. Albert had just left his hiding place and was making his way back to his and Elsa's apartment to see if he could salvage anything before going to look for her. As he walked along the ruined streets, he briefly stopped to look at the death and destruction around him.
He whispered, "Jesus Christ. How could this shit happen?!"
He knew that he had no time to stop, so he pressed on. He soon arrived back at his and Elsa's apartment, he saw that it was mostly destroyed. He did see that some of the flats were still intact, he took a deep breath before entering the ruined building.
He climbed his way through the building in hopes of finding anything useful.
He soon arrived back at his and Elsa's, it had mostly been destroyed and with very few things remaining intact.
Albert sighed and said, "alright. Let's see what I can scrounge up."
He saw that the sword that he had bought was still intact. He decided that it would come in handy in case of hostile survivors. He had to rummage through the wrecked cupboards, and he saw that most of the tinned food was still intact. He grabbed a backpack that was intact and placed them into it, after zipping it up. He quickly went into the room that was meant to be his and Elsa's baby's.
He gave a worried sigh as he grabbed various baby supplies that were left intact for if…. No…. For WHEN he found Elsa and the baby.
He saw that much to his relief, the plush dragon was still intact, although a little dirty from the debris.
He lightly dusted it off as he thought of not only his family…. But of the Great Dragon as well.
Albert then said to himself, "I'll come for you Elsa, even if it takes me all of eternity."
And after grabbing everything he could, Albert set off to find Elsa….
….
Two days later, in the basement of the Hoffman house, Stefan, Hanna and Elsa were sitting on some chairs whilst wrapped in blankets.
Stefan and Hanna were both eating some tinned food. Elsa, however, was sitting in the corner with tears streaming down her face. Stefan saw this and brought over a plate to her.
He then said gently, "come on Elsa, love, you have to eat something. You can't afford to go hungry now, not with the baby."
Elsa then said through her tears, "I don't care about the baby anymore, I wish it was dead."
Klaus sighed and set the plate down as he said, "I know you're upset…. And I know things seem bleak…. But whether or not Albert is still alive, this kid is a blessing, even in this dark time. And I don't think Albert would appreciate his child dying before it has a chance to live."
Elsa said, "but there's no point dad, no point now that Albert's dead."
Klaus said, "we don't know if he's dead. And if he is, this kid's your only thing to keep his memory alive. Whether or not he's dead, this kid deserves to live. Please…. Just eat."
Elsa said, "but we're all breathing in the radiation all the time. My baby, he or she will be ugly and deformed."
Klaus held her cheeks and said, "that doesn't matter. Whatever they look like, this baby is a blessing. They will be loved. And we will ALL survive this. Together."
Elsa started crying and hugged her father close.
Hanna watched this scene and began to tear up herself, thinking of both her husband and two sons.
This war had torn this family in half.
Stefan then wondered something, "I wonder how Albert's family is done, are they still alive or did they perish in the blast?"
Hanna said, "we can only hope some of them survived as well."
Over at the Wagner's house however, things were not good. Despite their best efforts to extinguish the fire, Klaus's mother got badly burned and tragically died later that night. The Wagner's then sadly covered her body with black bin bags. Klaus' father then cried over his beloved wife's body, whilst Klaus, Mila and Anna watched with tears in their eyes.
Despite the heartache, the family did their best to help each other survive in these dark days.
At the present moment, they were sitting on the ground in their fallout shelter, Klaus and Anna were having some food, whilst Mila was drinking some water. Klaus' father lay on a mattress, coughing violently. Due to his old age, he was the most at risk from radiation sickness.
Anna asked, "you guys think anyone else survived?"
Klaus said, "I really hope that Albert and Elsa have."
Mila gave a sniff and saif, "I really hope that our grandchild will be born healthy and strong. If the poor thing is born either stillborn or deformed, goddamn those Russians to the eternal fires of Hell."
Klaus said, "if we were able to survive this thing, I'm sure they have a chance."
Just then, Klaus' father began to have another violent coughing fit. Klaus then went over to him to see if he was okay.
He felt his father's forehead. It was burning up.
Klaus looked at his father with concern anc asked, "Mila, can you bring a damp cloth over for dad?"
Mila nodded with her husband's request. However, Klaus' father grabbed his son's hand and looked over at Mila.
He said, "don't bother, Mila."
Klaus looked at his father in shock and asked, "don't bother, dad?"
Klaus' father coughed and said, "it won't do any good…."
Klaus looked at his father sadly and said, "but dad, why won't it do you any good?"
Klaus' father sighed and said, "I ain't gonna last much longer at this rate…."
Klaus didn't like the sound of this, nor did Anna who spoke to him, "but you can't die, granddad."
Klaus' father said, "it's okay, Anna. I've lived a long life. I've seen so many great things. Met so many friends. Had a wonderful family. I'm ready to see what the afterlife will hold. Especially with my beloved by my side. I'm just thankful to br with my family in my final hours…. I love you all."
It was right there that Klaus' father left the world.
First his eyes closed, and then his breathing stopped altogether. Klaus, Mila and Anna all looked at him as he died.
They mourned his loss before doing their best to give him a burial next to where they buried Klaus' mother.
As they went to get some more black binbags, they began to wonder how Ralf and Helga were doing. What they didn't know was that, over at their house, things were no good at all….
….
After two days, they left their shelter to try and find Bruno. They decided to start by looking in their back garden. They had just entered the garden when they found a pile of bricks and debris, much to their horror, they saw a pair of familiar sneakers sticking out from the ruins of their bird cage which had been crushed by the debris.
They desperately searched the ruins for their son, hoping beyond belief they wouldn't find his remains.
But it was only once they cleared the debris, that their worst fear became reality.
All that was left of Bruno was a red stain on the ground.
Helga had cried her eyes out when Ralf had buried what little was left of their son.
Helga said through bitter tears, "those fucking Russians. I hate them, I hate them, I fucking hate them."
Ralf held his wife close and said, "I know honey…. Don't worry…. They'll pay for doing this…. I promise…."
Helga said, "I hope the Americans blow them to hell where Satan will shove his trident up their asses for all eternity."
Ralf said, "you and me both…."
Both Ralf and Helga then began to cry into each other's arms as they both grieved their dead son.
They only hoped their family wasn't dealing with this pain as well….
….
Later that night….
Elsa, Stefan and Hanna were trying their best to get some sleep. However, the heat was making it very difficult to do so. Elsa was getting the worst of it. She could barely get sleep as it was, but it wasn't from the heat. She was worried out of her mind for Albert, wondering if he was even still alive, she was also deeply worried for the child she was carrying.
She was hoping against all hope that her son or daughter would be born healthy and strong, not deformed. If that happened, then she would want to end both of their suffering as she couldn't bear the thought of their child being horrifically shunned by any survivors.
All she wanted was to be held in the arms of her beloved, their child healthy and in her arms.
Just then, she heard something coming from outside the house, it sounded like someone was lurking about. Thinking that it might be Albert, Elsa quietly got up and went to see who it was. She entered the hall and was about to head for the front door to see who was outside, when she heard some voices.
A voice said, "I don't like this Henry, I mean stealing from other people is wrong."
Elsa covered her mouth and quickly hid as she listened to the voices outside.
Just then the door was kicked open as two men entered, one of the men had a sinister grin on his face, whilst the other had a look of both uncertainty and remorse on his face.
Elsa held her breath as she hid in the closet.
The two men walked by as the vicious one spoke, "look Lenny, would you rather starve than steal?"
Lenny groaned, "I don't wanna do either, damnit!"
Harry just said, "well then just shut up and follow my lead. If we find food here, we take it. If we find someone with the food, well then we bash their heads in."
Elsa was shocked by this, so was Lenny.
He said, "no way Henry, I may not like stealing, but murder is where I draw the line."
Harry said, "I don't give a shit. If there's some idiot standing between us and food, I'll kill him. There ain't no cops to stop us!"
Elsa was shocked at this man's declaration. Since the police and all other forms of law enforcement had most likely been wiped out during the attack, then truly despicable people were now free to do what they wanted without any threat of arrest and prison.
This was a truly terrifying thought.
She had to get back to her father and aunt!
But it was tragically too late, as Stefan emerged from the shelter and saw the two looters. Before Stefan could do anything, Harry lunged at him with his crowbar and struck him on the head, killing Stefan instantly.
Elsa gasped with tears in her eyes.
Hanna witnessed this and shouted, "STEFAN!"
Elsa couldn't bear to watch what happened next.
Smiling sadistically, Harry brought his crowbar and dealt Hanna the same fate as her brother.
Elsa's face was covered in tears as she covered her mouth, desperate not to make a sound and share the fate of her family.
Harry then said to Lenny, "come on Lenny, let's get the food and get out of here."
Lenny, however, looked at lifeless bodies of Stefan and Hanna and said in shock, "Jesus, Mary and Joseph Harry, what the actual fuck?"
Harry said, "what? They were in our way! It's survival of the fittest, ya pussy."
Lenny said, "that wasn't survival of the fittest, that was pure sadism and you know it!"
Harry then gave him a sinister grin and said, "okay, so what? Just think of it Lenny, now that the police are all gone, we're free to do whatever we want and with no one to throw us in prison. It's a dream come true!"
Lenny said, "you're a psycho! What happened to you, man! Before this, you were a kindergarten teacher!"
Harry only chuckled as he shook the blood off of his crowbar and said, "whatever. I've never felt so alive!"
Just then the two men heard a noise coming from the closet. Clutching his crowbar tightly, Harry walked over to it. He then opened the doors and found Elsa shaking in fear at him.
He smirked deviously and said, "well, well, well. Seems we missed one."
He then turned to face Lenny and said, "so Lenny, do we kill or do better and have some fun with her?"
Lenny said, "Jesus Christ, Harry! She's pregnant! Let her go!"
Harry just smirked evilly and said, "sorry Lenny, no can do, besides, my friend needs some loving."
Harry turned back towards Elsa and started walking towards her.
Elsa began crying harder, unable to do anything.
When suddenly….
Lenny grabbed Harry's hand, a look of anger and disgust in his eyes.
He said, "I can't let you do this."
Harry just mockingly said, "no you can't Lenny."
Lenny started to pull back his fist and growled, "yes. I. Can!"
But before Lenny could do anything, Harry's crowbar collided with his head, killing him as Harry had done to Stefan and Hanna. Smiling wickedly, Harry then turned to face Elsa with a lecherous and lustful look on his face.
Elsa's breathing grew frantic as she tried to find a way to defend herself.
But before Harry could do anything, a sword emerged from his chest. Both Elsa and Harry looked at the sword in surprise.
Harry then dropped to the ground lifeless.
Elsa could now finally see who her savior was and her heart burst with joy when she saw who it was.
It was Albert!
He was clad in survival gear, including a poncho, a gas mask around his neck, a helmet, cobbled together fatigues, a rifle strapped to a large backpack, and an old sword clutched in his hand!
He and Elsa both stared at each for a few moments, then they rushed into each other's arms.
Elsa cried into Albert's shoulder as he held her close.
She whispered, "I thought you were dead."
Albert said, "nothing could stop me from finding you, my love."
Elsa hugged Albert close, not wanting to let him go ever. She then looked over to the hall, where she saw the lifeless bodies of her father and aunt.
She began to cry again as Albert's gaze landed on Stefan and Anna.
He gave a silent sigh as he said, "let's give them a proper burial. Then we'll see if we can find the rest of our family."
Elsa then looked at Lenny's body, "could we maybe give that guy one too? He did try to stop the other guy."
Albert said, "of course we can."
An hour later, Albert and Elsa had buried Stefan, Hanna and Lenny. Elsa managed to salvage a bible, which had belonged to her grandmother, so Albert and her could say a few prayers for them. After doing so, the two of them turned and left the graves forever. They then decided to head to look for Albert's family.
It was midday by the time they arrived at Albert's house. They entered the ruins, hoping that Klaus, Mila, Anna or their grandparents were still alive.
Albert called out, "Mom, Dad, Anna, Granddad, Gran?"
Just then a weak voice called, "Albert, is that you?"
Both Albert and Elsa raced to the voices source. They entered the shelter and much to Albert's sadness, only Anna was still alive. However, she too was dying.
Albert had quickly tended to Anna, giving her some large swigs of clean water to help her strength return.
Albert asked her, "you okay Anna?"
Anna coughed, "a little better…. Good to see ya…."
Albert then asked, "what happened to mom, dad, gran and granddad?"
Anna explained, "gran died due to burns she got from the bomb. Granddad died a few days later from radiation sickness. That, combined with the lack of food, is what killed mom and dad."
Albert was devastated by this. He had lost both his parents and grandparents in one day. Karl and Gunter were obviously dead too, along with their girlfriends. Although he sincerely hoped that Ida was dead too.
All he had left was Anna, Elsa, and his unborn child.
Albert then turned to face Elsa and Anna and said, "we'll stay the night here. Tomorrow, we will bury the bodies and find somewhere safe to stay."
Elsa and Anna nodded.
Elsa then said, "what if looters or any gangs come during the night?"
Albert said, "hence why I have a gun."
And so one final night was spent in the ruins of the Wagner house. The next day, Albert and Elsa dug some graves for Klaus, Mila and for their grandparents. After burying the bodies, they said a small prayer before departing forever.
They needed to find a safe place to go….
Albert suggested to Elsa they find the Great Dragon.
Albert, Elsa and Anna then began their journey to find the Great Dragon, hoping that he survived the nuclear attack.
They decided to start at his cave.
As they were walking down their ruined neighborhood, the trio got a good look at the destruction all around them. As expected; houses were destroyed, charred bodies lay around, the people who died in the attack were the lucky ones. The ones who survived, however, that was going to be a very different story.
As they were walking down the street, they saw a teenage boy who was aimlessly arranging some Star Wars figures. A young boy was calling for his mother, who was presumably dead. But the most saddening scene was when they came across a woman who was nursing her dead baby. Albert, Elsa and Anna saw that she had dressed the poor thing up, the poor woman was probably in so much shock that she didn't realize that her baby was dead.
They did their best to help these surviving souls.
However, it did little good, as they were either too shaken or grief stricken for the trio to do any good…..
...
….A week later in the fallout shelter under the ruins of City Hall, Mayor Heinrich and his staff were nearing the end of their rope. The attack had left countless dead and many were now emerging from the shelters.
He was saying to the others, "we haven't heard from County HQ in two days, Commissioner Otto, wasn't there something else you wanted to tell me?"
Otto said, "from what little radio chatter I've managed to pick up, the countries are in ruins, and only a third of the total population has survived."
A member of the staff, a man named Flynn asked, "what about the army when will they arrive?"
Commissioner Otto replied, "I'm afraid that both the main bases were nuked and the roads are out."
A shocked Flynn asked, "what do you mean?"
Commissioner Otto replied, annoyed, "what I mean Flynn is that there are no roads left."
Heinrich said, "so in short, our options are very limited, is that correct?"
Commissioner Otto solemnly nodded and said, "I'm afraid so, Mr. Mayor, I'm afraid so."
Heinrich sighed and said, "we can't stay down here forever. We need to come up with a plan."
Flynn, however, just grabbed some papers and flung them against the wall before shouting, "this is fucking ridiculous! Why are we down here trying to fucking keep society together when there's no fucking point?!"
Heinrich yelled, "because we're the only people left who can! We need to help the surviving people of the world to rebuild what they can!"
Flynn shouted, "who cares about them and why are we even wasting food on them?! They're going to die anyway!"
Otto yelled, "because it's the right thing to do! We aren't animals!"
Flynn just said, "well I'm afraid that it's survival of the fittest now, we should just keep the food for ourselves and let them resort to cannibalism, it's what they're going to do anyway!"
Otto yelled, "you son of a bitch!"
Flynn stood up and shouted, "okay then let's go Otto, you even have the ball!"
Before they each land a blow at each other, several staff members stood up and restrained the arrogant staff member and the Commissioner of Police. Mayor Heinrich stood up and looked angrily at the two of them.
He yelled, "shame on you! Turning on each other like animals! We're all in this together! We NEED to survive! We NEED to work together!"
Otto and Flynn glared at one another.
Heinrich said, "I may not be much of a mayor anymore, but I still feel it my responsibility to keep you all alive for as long as I can!"
However, a member of the staff, a man named Tobias, had something to say, "if I may speak mayor?"
Heinrich nodded and said, "go ahead."
The staff member said, "I both agree and disagree with Flynn."
Mayor Heinrich was curious at this and asked, "agree and disagree?"
Tobias took a deep breath and explained, "whilst your attempts to maintain law and order are very admirable Sir, they are ultimately going to fail. For a start, the food isn't going to last much longer due to us no longer having places to keep it cool. I'm afraid that Flynn is right about cannibalism and there's the biggest one."
Commissioner Otto asked, "and what's that Tobias?"
Tobias sadly said, "most of the people on the surface are going to die, not just from starvation but also the radiation. There's also a deep possibility of future generations being born either stillborn or deformed from the fallout. As for everyone in this bunker, then I'm truly sorry to have to tell you this, Mr. Mayor, is that we are going to die down here, that is sadly our destiny and nothing can change it even you know that, Mr. Mayor."
Heinrich sighed and said, "I just want us to have some fucking hope, damnit. Hope that we'll find a way to survive, even if it means leaving this bunker."
Tobias looked at the mayor sympathetically, "I know you do, Sir, but sadly doing so is only going to delay the inevitable."
Heinrich said, "frankly, Tobias, fuck the inevitable! If we're gonna die anyway, I say the best thing to do is to get out of this damned bunker and help people!"
Just then a member of staff came up to them and said, "Mr. Mayor, we have a problem."
Mayor Heinrich looked at him and asked, "what is Herman?"
Herman said, "follow me."
Herman led Mayor Heinrich, Commissioner Otto, Tobias, Flynn and the rest of the staff to the entrance of the bunker. They opened the door to see that the tunnel had collapsed and now it was blocking the way up to the surface.
Mayor Heinrich just punched the wall in despair and growled, "God damn it!"
Otto said, "there's gotta be another way out of here. No fallout shelter would be built with only one damned way out!"
Heinrich said, "Otto's right. I refuse to lose hope! We have to get out of here!"
Flynn asked, "and how the Hell are we gonna get outta here? It's not like a giant Dragon or some shit is gonna move the fucking rubble!"
Otto however just slapped Flynn on the head and yelled, "oh just shut up Flynn!"
Heinrich yelled, "I fucking refuse to give up! I didn't come this far and lose my family just to suffocate in some damned bunker! Otto, is there any other exit out of this place?"
Commissioner Otto said, "I think that there is one, follow me."
Otto began leading the group through the bunker.
….
November 22nd, 1997, 22 days after the attack….
Albert, Elsa and Anna had yet made it out of the city. Anna's illness had made things difficult, several times Anna had asked Albert and Elsa to leave her behind, but they refused.
They weren't going to leave her for dead. And so they helped her along, even as she coughed every so often.
Albert insisted that the Great Dragon could help.
Whilst trying to make their way there, they saw a group of survivors entering what appeared to be a sort of hospital. Deciding to take a chance there, they joined the que. It was two hours before they were able to enter, but when they entered the hospital, they were in for a shock.
A large number of survivors were there, being treated for radiation sickness and obtaining what supplies they could get.
However, by this time, without drugs, water, bandages, electricity or medical support facilities, there was virtually no way a doctor could exercise his or her skill as a source of help or comfort. He or she is little better equipped than the nearest survivor.
When they entered the hospital, Albert, Elsa and Anna were shocked to see that the staff were forced to use primitive, even horrible measures in order to save lives. Some had pus soaked bandages due to infected wounds, doctors were forced to operate on patients without aesthetics. A doctor was pulling shards of glass from the leg of a young boy whose mother was holding onto his hand, in a desperate attempt to comfort him.
Another doctor was forced to amputate a man's arm, the man screamed in agony as his arm was sawed off. The nurse then poured some water, mixed with SAXA table salt onto the bloody stump before cauterizing it.
The whole place was a grim sight, to see how humanity was barely holding on in these dire times.
Anna held onto Alberts arm tightly and said, "I want to leave, please let us leave."
Albert nodded and said, "we'll leave in a minute. Stay with Elsa. I'm gonna see if we can get some supplies for the road."
Elsa shook her head and said, "Albert I don't think that you'll be able to, I mean look at this place. They're obviously going to need it all for themselves."
Albert sighed and said, "you may be right. We best continue looking for our friend."
Just before they were about to leave, a doctor came up to them.
He asked, "can I help you?"
Albert tries to say politely, "no thanks, we're actually good."
However, the doctor knew what they really meant and said, "you three are making the right decision."
Elsa looked puzzled and asked, "we are?"
The doctor nodded and said, "this place is barely hanging on. Leaving is the best course of action."
Albert, Elsa and Anna gave shaky nods as they began to take their leave.
They tried to block their ears as they heard the agonized screams of the patients coming from inside the hospital. They hoped never to hear something like this again.
Once they left, they continued on their journey to the Great Dragon's lair….
The next day, they had finally left West Berlin and were making their way towards the countryside. They were hoping that things there would be a lot cleaner. Since the bombs mainly hit the cities, the forests had to be safer then the ruins of Berlin.
The first patches of forest however had been completely obiliterated by the bomb, the second batch had been charred by the firestorm. As they walked among the charred trees, they soon began to see the charred husks of animals.
Upon seeing the remains of the animals, Anna had said, "those poor things."
Elsa and Albert nodded in agreement.
Anna then said, "I hope those fucking Russians burn in Hell for what they've done."
Albert said, "I hope the few good apples among the rotten orchard survive this carnage."
A few hours later, things began to improve for them. The terrain began to change, from barred charred land to slightly better and more healthy land.
What animals had survived stared at the trio from the bushes. The healthy landscape helped Anna breathe much better.
Elsa said, "well at least there are some places the radiation hasn't affected yet."
Albert and Anna nodded in some form of relief.
It was getting dark, so they decided to set up camp for the night. Albert got the firewood as Anna set up the tents.
Once the tents were set up, Elsa began to cook some of the food that they had. Once it was ready they settled down to eat, however the trio remained quiet during the meal. They had very little to say about their current situation.
They had just lost their family and friends, leaving them all alone in the world. Well they weren't actually alone, they still had each other. But the thought of them only having each other was still a very bitter pill to swallow.
The only thing they could do now was search for the Great Dragon, and hope he could help them.
After finishing their meal, they went inside their tents for the night. Despite everything, they felt that they were safe as there couldn't possibly be any people out due to most of them being in the city. But come tomorrow, they would be proven wrong….
….
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