A Game of Chess

West Berlin, East Germany

October 3, 1950

9:40 PM

They walked back up the stairs in that hollow house in silence, only hearing the sounds of their footsteps echo through the floorboards. The city outside was dark, not a single house or building was lit. But then again, it was pretty late.

Alfred stopped in front of his door exhausted and twisted the doorknob open. "Night man." He muttered, entering his room.

Ludwig grunted in response and shut the door behind him.

The American shrugged and did the same. Perhaps Ludwig just wasn't a night owl, that didn't really surprise him. He looked at his watch and read the time. '9:43' His eyes widened at the time. It was around ten, and he was already this tired?

Though shocked, he didn't let the time phase him. Maybe it would help him get up early in the morning, so he wouldn't miss breakfast. It wasn't an unreasonable thought. He removed his hat, setting it on a cupboard next to his bed along with his glasses and placed his clothes somewhere in the closet. He changed into his pajamas, nestling into the covers. It was going to be a good day tomorrow.

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West Berlin, East Germany

October 4, 1950

3:30 AM

*Thump!

Alfred awoke, startled by the noise. He instinctively sat upwards, feeling the coldness of the night pick at his fingertips and his messy hair. Quickly, he reached out for his glasses and placed them on, glancing at the clock hanging from the wall. Though it was still dark outside, he squinted at it, reading out '3:30' He tore off his blankets, and rushed for the door handle, picking up his gun on the way out. His eyes were still barely open, groggy from the sudden awakening he had experienced. But he ignored all of that and slammed the door open.

Normally, people would consider this an over reaction, but to him this was only normal procedure. When he lived back in the states, he would sleep with a gun under his pillow, in case any of Ivan's goons thought of sneaking into his apartment. He was a heavy sleeper, and not once has he awoken to such a loud noise in the middle of the night. Something had to be different.

And soon as he opened the door, he saw light radiating from the living room downstairs and the strong smell of alcohol. He looked frantically around the house, spotting Ludwig's room that was on the other side of the stairs was left wide open, with no Ludwig in sight. He tilted his head slightly, a bit confused. The noise wasn't the sound of glass breaking, so it couldn't be burglars that accidentally broke some beer bottles. And not to mention, Ludwig wasn't in his room so he couldn't have been hurt. But there was still this sound coming from the living room. He placed his gun in his pocket, and rushed down the stairs, thoughts racing through his mind.

Though the lights were too bright for him to see clearly, his eyes widened at the sight before him as soon as they calibrated.

There, on the floor gasping for air and grasping at his heart in pain was Ludwig. His eyes were clenched tightly and his other hand was balled into a fist, shaking. He looked miserable, dark shadows underlining his eyes and his hair was a mess. Not to mention that he was still in his clothes from the evening before. The coffee table was littered with bottles of alcohol, some of them were starting to pile onto the floor. It absolutely reeked of beer.

Alfred didn't spare any time and quickly ran over to him, avoiding bottles on his way there. "Hey! Hey! Ludwig, are you alright?" He yelled, looking at the mess in front of them. He started to pat his back softly, unsure of what to do. "Answer me, are you okay?"