A/N: This chapter will wrote in present tense and will be following events as it happen instead of being told by the characters in past tense years after.

July, 2013

National Tankery University, Frankfurt, Germany

It's almost midnight, yet, Maho is still unable to sleep. She tried everything from shutting off all the blinds to playing calming music on, yet, nothing she does get her any closer to sleep.

After tossing and turning for hours, she finally gave up on sleep and decide to stay up, it's not like she have any class or activity she need to wake up early for tomorrow. A fact that most collage students would cherish but she resent, especially considering the current circumstances.

Germany had declare a state of emergency when the outbreak began hit its soil. Borders were shut down, international flight canceled, and most other major cities had been put under strict twelve hour curfew with the Bundeswehr being called up to service to help local police to keep the peace while also deal with the infected.

Because of her achievement in Senshado back home, she had gotten the title of team commander almost immediately after she join the university. And as leader, she had taken the responsibility of assuring her teammates that everything will be okay, and put up a brave face for them to ease their worries.

Yet, despite all that, she is absolutely terrified, just as much as anyone else. How could she not? A virus that can kill you and bring you back to live as a monster in less than 24 hours would scare anyone.

But, she couldn't let anyone know that she's afraid, as the team commander, she knew if she broke, her team would follow suit. So Maho put up the mask of unshakable commander that she always have since she was the senshado commander at Kuromorimine.

Looking out of her dorm windows, she couldn't see much outside apart from the lights that came out of an army jeep that was park not to far away. She could see the faint silhouette of soldiers that was standing near it, rifles slung on their back as they smoke away their cigarette to calm their nerve.

Just below her window, a pair of armed police officers were patrolling the campus ground accompany by a German Shepperd. A sight that has been more and more common these days as infection case skyrocketed. It certainly didn't ease her worries.

Deciding that starring out her windows to be unproductive, Maho got out of her bed and made her way towards the small kitchen dorm to make herself a cup of coffee. As she step into the kitchen, she found that her roommate, Ella was there.

"Can't sleep too, huh?" Ella asked.

Maho wordlessly nodded as she began to brew a cup coffee.

"Care to share why?"

Maho sigh. "I don't really know. I guess, I'm worried. About... everything."

"Can't really blame you there. With how the world turns out in the last couple of weeks really made me wanna blew my own brains out."

"Yeah." Maho answered weakly.

After she finish brewing her coffee, she sat on the kitchen stool, drinking in silence.

"How's your family?" Ella suddenly ask.

Maho raised an eyebrow at the sudden question but answered. "They're safe. All of them are in a school carriers so hopefully they'll be spared from the worse. How's yours?"

Ella was silent for a moment. "I don't know."

Maho internally cringe at her own lack of tack. "Sorry, I forgot." Out of everywhere in Germany, Berlin, Ella's hometown was hit the worst by the outbreak.

Ella gave her a smile. "It's okay, I know you mean well. It's just... I've been asking the soldiers to use their satellite phone to contact my family since the phone service is down. They didn't let me at first, saying that it's for 'military use only', but one of the officer took a pity on me and let me use his. I've been trying to call home for days now, but no one ever answer."

Tear began forming in her eyes, she quickly wipe them off, trying to keep her composure. "I don't know why I keep trying. It's not like their phone work anyway. It's just I... I miss them, I miss them so much and I don't know if I can keep going if I don't know what happen to them."

Maho felt rather awkward as Ella struggling to not cry in front of her. Maho knew she should comfort her, but she was never good at comforting words. Still though, she have to try.

Putting down her coffee mug, Maho walk over to Ella and hug her. That gesture made Ella's burst as she began to cry on Maho's shoulder, releasing weeks worth of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty out, all the while, Maho hold onto her tightly, letting her cry while rubbing her back.

After a few minutes, Ella began to calm down, Maho pull out of the hug. Ella's eyes were wet and her nose stuffy.

"Better?"

Ella wipe her tears and snot with a tissue. "Better." She answer with a nod.

Maho was glad that she seemed better. She suppose she should've follow the hug with a comforting words to Ella, at least, that's how her sister did it to her friend.

"You know, despite all that is happening in the world right now, I believe we'll be okay."

Ella look at her curiously. "Why is that?"

Maho shrugged. "Our nations had been through worse than this plague. Japan survive two atomic bombing and countless firebombing by the Americans, yet we pushed on. And Germany suffer defeat after defeat and even torn apart more than once, yet in the end, it came back stronger than ever. If any nation were to survive this plague and came out on top, it will be ours."

Ella let out a humorless laugh. "Doesn't mean we'll be alive to see it."

"We will be if we didn't give up and continue fighting."

"Fighting?"

"Yeah, you see those news clips from America right? You know what I'm talking about."

Ella didn't understand her at first, confusion written all over her face. The realization hit her and she began to laugh, a genuine laugh.

"So you're saying that we should be fighting those things our self like those idiots of TV instead of letting the Bundeswehr, one of the most trained armed forces in the planet to take care of it."

Maho felt a bit embarrassed by her own logic, but she's glad that Ella was finally laughing again.

"If it what it takes to survive, than I don't see why not. After all, it was because the will of the people as to why Japan and Germany survive the defeat after World War 2, I don't see why this will be any different."

Ella let out a amused huff and she smile at her. "I hope you're right, Maho, I really do."

Maho return it with a smile of her own. "Yeah, me too."

December, 2013

Schleswig-Holstien, Germany

Maho felt as if her back is about to collapse at any moment, she massage it to alleviate some of the pain. Clenching her jaw, Maho work through the pain, she grip her hand around her shovel and continue digging. Should've been a simple task, but the cold December winter of northern Germany had turn the soil frozen solid, causing even a small task such as digging a small hole challenging.

After she deemed the hole was big enough, she put her shovel aside and and a piece of item to be buried, an S-mine, or as the western allies fondly refers to as the "bouncing betty." Maho was careful when arming it, in case it accidentally detonate. After the mine was buried all but the trigger, Maho got up and move on to the next spot, careful not to step on the mine that she and the other workers had buried. As she continue her work, she couldn't help but think where it all goes wrong.

After that conversation she had with Ella on that fateful night, things had gone from bad, to straight up apocalyptic in a matter of weeks. Frankfurt was heavily infested, and combine that with the constant public unrest caused the Bundeswehr to lose control over the city in late July. Maho and her friends, desperate to escape the chaos, boarded a train that was said was headed for Zurich, Switzerland where it is rumored to be safe. But instead it take them to Dortmund, another city that was heavily infested.

There, in the midst of the chaos, Maho was separated from her friends. She try to look for them but all that effort was in vain. Defeated, Maho join a refugee convoy that was headed for Bielefeld. But after spending less than a week there, the city was overrun as well. She then join another convoy that was headed for Hanover, and then finally, Hamburg.

But, then, something strange happened in Hamburg. The Bundeswehr just left. Before this, the refugee convoy always have a military escort on some form. Even if they don't, they always know where to go, as the Bundeswehr broadcast their movement on open channel so that the civilian knew where to go. But in Hamburg, they just left, without telling anyone where they're going, not the refugee, not the locals, not even the local police force. And they left at the worst time as well, as the next day, Hamburg became another name in the long list of fallen cities.

Maho, on her own in a foreign land, didn't want to become a living dead, left Hamburg behind her as well. She find a bike and ride it from Hamburg all the way to Schleswig. The journey took her four days to complete, by the time she reaches it, the whole city had turn into a fortress. She hadn't actually reach the city, rather she stumble on one of many checkpoint that lead into the city. The soldiers guarding it brought her to a refugee center where she had been staying ever since.

The local government have rules regarding the refugees, especially foreign one. All foreign refugee are require to work manual labor if they wish to stay. Which led to her working laying landmines today. Laying landmines is one of the better paying job that are available, mainly due to the risk that came with it. Maho took it as it was a simple job, dangerous, but simple nonetheless.

The landmines are to be planted on the ground on the either side of the road that lead up to Schleswig. The idea was that the mines would take care of the zombies that was walking in the fields so that the soldiers could focus their attention on the road.

A sound of shouting from somewhere behind her cause Maho and the other workers turn around. But when she saw what caused it, she rolled her eyes.

Again?

The source of the shouting came from two of her fellow refugees who's in the middle of a screaming match. One of them came from Iran and the other from Pakistan. The source of their argument came from that their country had destroy each other in a nuclear war following the panic. By this time, Maho and the other refugee had gotten used to their argument. They would always came close to physical confrontation but was prevented by soldiers on sight.

Maho shook her head and continue her work.

Since the Euro was practically useless these days, the local government pays the refugees with "coupon" to replace the Euro as the currency. Even though it function just like any money, there are strict rules that exist that stated the coupons can only be exchange for food, medicine, and alcohol from official government channel in order to stop illegal trading from happening among the refugees.

But that didn't stop them. One method that Maho learned to use was to exchange her coupon for hard liquor such as whiskey or vodka. Hard liquor had become the new bartering tools lately, you could get anything if you're willing to exchange it with one of those.

Maho stood alone in a small alleyway far away from any prying eyes. She hold tight to the bottle of vodka that she hides under her grey winter jacket, patiently waiting. Not long after, a middle age man appear at the end of the alleyway and he made her way towards her, Maho do the same.

Once they're facing each other, Maho wordlessly handed him the vodka. She watch as the man open the bottle to take a swig from it, testing its quality. Satisfied, the man handed Maho the item she's been looking for in the past few weeks. She tap on the object lightly, confirming that it is not a fake. After that, both of them walk away on opposite direction without saying a word. The whole trade took less than thirty second.

After that, Maho quickly make her way back to the refugee center that she's been staying at for the last few weeks while making herself as unnoticeable as possible as to not draw any unwanted attention from the other refugee or locals alike.

The refugee center was establish upon an old catholic church that haven't been used in decades. The building was old and in desperate need of renovation, but it is livable. Maho was about to enter the front gate only to fine it surrounded by an angry mob, holding up signs with anti immigrants message protesting for the expulsion of the refugees from their city while soldiers in full riot gear guard the front gate.

Maho sigh in frustration as she watch the angry mob. She could understand where they're coming from. After all, the first infected individual in Germany had been a refugee from Egypt. But the way they handle their frustration isn't helping anyone.

Maho was force to take the longer entrance to the church from the backside, adding another ten minutes of walking in attempt to avoid the angry mob. Once she's inside, she carefully navigate her way through the sea of refugee that filled every inch of the church and made her way to her spot.

She had hit the jackpot with the placement of her bed, as it was located inside a janitor's closet. The place was dark, stinky, and cramp, only big enough to fit a single sleeping bag, but it did gave her a privacy, something that she greatly valued and needed for the project at hand.

After closing the door of her "room." Maho began to work, she put a headlamp on her head and began to go over all the part of her project to restored a small but crucial item to its original state. A satellite phone.

She had find the satellite phone during her brief stay in Hamburg while hiding inside an abandoned home. Even though it was broken, she had taken it anyway, confident that she can fixed it. Her father, a JSDF communication officer, have a hobby of fixing electronics, and he had pass down that skill to her.

After she was settled, Maho began her work to restored the phone to its former state. There are some part that are missing or entirely broken that she had to scavenge for and after weeks of work, there's only one final piece to the puzzle.

The item that she had traded the bottle of vodka for is the phone's battery. It was nothing short of a miracle that she find the exact type of battery for her phone. She silently prayed for it to work as she put the battery on the phone, and with a deep breath, she turn it on.

To her delight, it worked! Maho feel like she's about to cry out of happiness, with this, she can talk with her family, with Miho. Oh how long has it been since she talk to her sister? Six months? A year? She couldn't remember.

As she stare at the screen, she notice another thing that made her eyes widen, the battery was full. With this, she can have up to three hours of phone call. Maho decide to try calling her mother first, and as she type her number, she made a mental note to seek out that dealer again as it was obvious he traded high quality stuff.

She put the phone to her ear, waiting for a response, yet after listening to the dial tune for a while, a pre-recorded voice says "The number you're calling is not active, please try again." Frustrated, she try calling again, same thing. She try calling her father's phone, it went straight to voicemail. Now getting desperate, she try the last number she had in mind, her sister's.

She nervously listen to the dial tone as it stretch on, she fear that it would be just like the previous one, when suddenly, she heard a voice on the other line.

"Hello?"

Maho's breath caught up on her throat as she hear those soft and comforting voice that she hadn't heard in a long time.

"Miho?" She began.

"Maho? Is that you?"

Maho lay awake on her mattress, unable to sleep. She kept thinking back to the conversation she had with Miho three days ago. Specifically, she thought of the sentence she had say just moments before her phone died.

"Miho, I will come home to you and we will meet again. Just wait for me okay."

She had said those words impulsively and without thinking in a moment of desperation. Yet, now she couldn't stop thinking about it and she didn't know why. But, the more she tried to brush it off, the harder it get to forget it.

Then, slowly she started to entertain the idea. She longed for an opportunity to return to Japan, to the people she loved. She miss her family, she miss driving the family's Panzer II with Miho through the country side, and she miss her country. But now, with the Japanese home island totally overrun with the living dead, she didn't have a home to return to.

Or did she? The news that the Japanese government had form a government in exile in Kamchatka along with 5 million refugees had been known to anyone for sometimes now. And Maho knew that her family are among the lucky ones who was evacuated during the fall, and she knew that they're safe. And according to a cheesy proverb that went "Home is where family is" that had been used in countless stories, she technically still have a home to return to, her family.

"Am I really considering this?" She ask herself.

Maho rise to a sitting position, contemplating the crazy idea that's slowly forming in her head.

Air travel is not entirely out of in the realm of possibility, the German Air Force cargo plane still flies semi-regularly to connect with different Bundeswehr unit all across the country. But she doubt any of them are heading to the Russia's far east. So that leave land travel. Theoretically it is doable; all she has to do is to travel out of Germany, crossing central and eastern Europe and finally into Russia where she could board a train on the Trans-Siberian Railway to make it to Vladivostok.

Maho sigh, the plan is easier said than done. Even if she made it to Russia in the first place,(and that's a big if) Russia was hit the worst by the undead nightmare. Everyone had heard the stories: the fall of Volgograd, the burning of Saint Petersburg, the mass mutiny of the armed forces, the decimation. It all made everything that happen in Germany looks childsplay. With everything that's going on, it is very unlikely that the Trans-Siberian Railway is even operational.

But then she thought of it again. The Trans-Siberian Railway is vital to connect the Russian government in Siberia to its Far Eastern territory, as such they'll likely would make an effort to keep it operational. And since Russia is in need of fresh body more than ever, she maybe could volunteer in their armed forces for a while in exchange of boarding a train that was bound for Vladivostok.

She can't go now though. Traveling now in the middle of winter is the same as suicide. She must wait until spring come to start her journey. But that means she have more times to prepare.

"I'm officially insane." She mumbled, still can't believe that she's actually about to commit to this crazy(foolish) plan.

But, if she was successful, her reward was she get to see her sister again. And that is more than enough reason for her.

April, 2014

Maho was back at her room getting the rest of her gear and provision. She hoisted up the old Bundeswehr rucksack to her back and make sure that her switch blade which she put on her right pocket was where it should be. Once she's confident that she have everything, she took a deep breath and step out of her room. Today is the day.

She had spent the last four months preparing all the necessary food, gear, and equipment to make her long journey across Europe. She had made an exit plan, scout the roads, memorize all the possible routes and secure herself a transport that would take her out of the city.

When the warmth of spring came and the cold winter left, Maho was ready to move. All she need was the right time to slip by unnoticed by the authority. And today is the perfect day.

A riot had broken out in the city, a big one at that. It all started with a not so peaceful protest that lead into the locals and refugee brawling in the streets while the authority desperately try to maintain order. Maho knew this is her chance, with most of the police and soldiers are away trying to quell the violence, they might not notice her missing.

Maho try to keep a low profile by avoiding any major road and taking the alleyways. She need to be quick, as it was a somewhat sunny day. She contemplated if she should wait until dark but decide against it, the riot was too good of an opportunity to pass on.

She try to stick to the alleyways as much as possible, but soon she was force to take the road. She try her best to blend in, to act as another panic refugee trying to escape the riot. There were soldiers around, but they didn't spare her a second glance, their main concern was to kept the riot from spreading.

She kept that demeanor until she's far away from the riot. At that point, she had reach the spot where she hid her transport. It was an old rundown outdoor shed that has been long abandoned in the southeastern side of the city. When she's at he door, she glance around her to make sure no one is watching her. Then she opens the door an immediately she smile as she greet Jaeger, a brown thoroughbred horse. She had 'borrowed' him from his stable a couple of weeks ago and had been hiding him here ever since.

Saying a quick hello to the horse, Maho walk past him to retrieve a tool box, more specifically what's inside of it. She open it and it was a G3 battle rifle with a retractable stock. It's a perfect weapon for her, compact, accurate, and deadly. The only problem was she only have two magazine with her, one in her rucksack, and one on the gun itself. She must be conservative in its usage.

With all of her equipment ready, Maho lead Jaeger out of the shed and onto the street. Once there, she hoisted herself onto the saddle and began riding east.

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