Ludwig tore his eyes from the stagnant sky. The train was skidding, stopping, screeching to a halt, and the tan ground stopped blurring. The tracks here were rusty, most likely from the constant rain and lazy maintenance workers. His vision blurred slightly, but cleared with the silt and stillness of the air. Get off the train, Ludwig. Jump. It's still.
It took the jolt of the train leaving to remind him to jump. This numbness was inescapable and raw; it shook him to the bones and left him rubber. His only family. Gone. This fact sat on him like bitter caramel and snaked under his skin like a tick.
He hardly noticed himself walking through the station, working his way through the crowd, and suddenly found himself on the street. Focus, Ludwig. Focus on being alive. He shakily found the paper slapped address of this tenement.
The air was a bit fresher with each step away from his old life. Maybe it hurt, but so did washing the blood from a wound. He had to sit, and stay, and survive, and believe. He had to believe that Gilbert would survive too.
He walked through the bustling center of London, the smell and noise slapping him in the face. Ludwig was so used to dank hills and mountains, the towns sleepy and forgotten. Here, everything was bright and scary. He kept his head down as clutched his coat and bag tightly.
He rounded a corner into a less crowded street. Number 45, Switching lane—there it was. A tall, rickety house. It was cramped against the surrounding homes which was really rather strange, and it was painted white. He walked up the neatly built steps and placed the key he had received in the mail in the lock. He pushed the heavy door open.
Well, it was really empty, but it was good. Ludwig exhaled deeply and turned around. He set his bag on the floor and turned around. Surely there would be furniture in the other rooms? Ludwig heard his footsteps pound the floor as he made his way to the doorway. Thankfully, there was a bed and some other furnishings all piled up in the other room. He set away his fears for then, and began working on his new home.