The Split

Chapter 48 (With Note)

Note- Arthur Fila, November 23rd 2092

I was fortunate enough to find two groupings of pages (or chapters as it would seem) that appear to be in order back to back. The author's account of Nazi Germany falls in line with most early century viewpoints on the matter.

The following pages are strange. It seems after this kiss that the narrative changes and he begins to refer to himself as Gerhard only. There is never any explanation for this sudden shift, nor does it happen in any other chapters I have found so far.

Upon doing some simple research I was able to find this Gerhard in military records from the time period. There isn't much to go on, but there isn't a doubt in my mind that he existed, and therefore it is likely these words are true.

His wife, Gisela, was a different matter. I found a large amount of documentation on her, and was able to piece together her life after the events in Berlin. She did escape the embattled city and was treated in a hospital in France where she gave birth to their son. There is no record of her son's existence until six months later, when immigration documents show she traveled to the United States and got a birth certificate for the boy, named Gerhard after his father.

Gisela never remarried, and poured her life into a small store she used to support Gerhard. This small store eventually became a chain of supermarkets in the 70's and the little family became quite wealthy. After Gisela's passing in 1984, her son took over the business and still runs it to this day.

I have reached out to contact him with this story but have yet to hear anything back. By all sources, it seems like Gerhard SR. died in Berlin that day, and he is listed among the German casualties.

- Arthur Fila, 2083

Berlin, 1945

I am Gerhard. There are other voices in my head telling me otherwise, but I do not listen. They call out and I ignore what they have to say. These other thoughts, these strange memories, they do not matter now. All I must do is get Gisela to safety, even if it takes my death.

Her lips were still locked with mine, and I could feel her tremble slightly as I gripped her tighter. I was holding her above the ground; and felt no strain from my muscles as I did. With death all around us, the only thing I could cling to was life, the tiny life growing inside my beloved Gisela, and how much love I had for this baby I had never seen.

I set Gisela down on the ground carefully, and walked back over to the window to look out at the plaza. Columns of Russian soldiers were leaving sporadically, taking off down various streets to the North. Less than half of them remained, and in a few minutes we would have an opening to the train station.

Gisela was sitting on the couch and I walked over and sat down beside her. She cozied up to me, laying her head on my shoulder and sighing with content. Minutes passed as we sat there in silence, enjoying each other's company and putting off thoughts of the destruction raging all around us. I had never enjoyed my time more; I had never held onto a moment as tightly as this one.

After what seemed a blissful eternity, my inner soldier stirred and brought me to my feet. The plaza was completely clear, but who knew for how long.

"Come on Gisela, it's time to leave. Are you okay to walk?"

"Yes, I think so," she replied nervously, "Lead the way dear."

We walked out the room and through the hallway to the staircase at a cautious pace. I could hear artillery in the distance but there were no sounds of any panzers or enemy troops. After descending the stairs and walking to the entrance of the building, I peered out through the cracked doorway into the plaza outside.

There were no men in the clearing so I led Gisela out into the open. A few hundred meters away I could see a large government building I knew led to an alley that would take us to the station. As we quickly walked through the plaza, we stepped over the bodies left behind in the carnage. There were hundreds of them. It was nearly impossible to see the pavement under the gore-strewn scene.

Russians and Germans alike piled the area. Every few meters we would pass a soldier still alive. They called out to us in agony as we walked by, crying out for water and help to a medic. It was hard to ignore, but we pressed on, from behind I felt Gisela grab my shoulder for reassurance as she quickened her pace.

A demonic sounding roar stopped us in the middle of our tracks. It echoed off the buildings for a few seconds before fading. I had never heard anything like it and the sound sent a chill through my bones.

"Gerhard..." Gisela sounded terrified, "What was that?"

"I don't know," I admitted, "We must continue, we're nearly to safety."

She nodded and we broke into a slow jog. The corpses began to thin out as we made it to the other side. The steps up to the large building in front of us were cleared entirely, and we walked up them and went through the double doors inside.

The place still looked as I had last seen it, but the hallways were nearly empty. A soldier in a Wermacht uniform passed us holding his bloodied stump of an arm and muttering to himself. He paid us no mind as he passed, and we continued down the hall.

After a more seconds of walking, I began to hear a whispered conversation coming from a door up ahead to our left. As we moved by it I paused and turned to look inside of the room. Two older women sat on a couch, one laying on the other's shoulder as she tried to console her. They were so engrossed in their conversation, they didn't even look up to see me and Gisella standing there.

"I J-just don't know what to do. Josef said he would meet me here. It's been hours past the time he said."

"Hush Eva," the other woman replied, "Don't entertain such thoughts, I'm sure he's on his way now."

"H-he always was such a proud man, always wanting to serve Germany. I told him he was too old, to ignore Goebbel's broadcast and come hide with me. 'Nonsense' he said, there was no convincing him otherwise."

The woman broke down into tears and I tapped Gisela and motioned for us to keep walking. There would be many stories like the old lady's by the end of the day. Whole families of sons and fathers had died in the war, it seemed a cruel joke that this battle would take away grandfathers and boys as well.

We were nearing the back door when I heard the clattering of metal hitting the hard floor. I turned around to look for the source of the noise but could see nothing. Frowning, I led Gisela down a nearby hall to our right, just before the back door that led to the alley behind. I could hear footsteps as I got closer, followed by the slamming of a door a few meters up.

Could the Russians already be in this building? I thought about it, doing my best to think like a field commander and not as just another scared soldier. The building was tall and well reinforced, the levels above would make an excellent spot for snipers to take position. Surely there would be several soldiers in the room ahead, and I couldn't just move past them in fear of being snuck up on from behind.

I reached the door and took a deep breath. Gisela was standing several feet behind me, clutching her hands nervously. As softly as I could, I turned the knob. The door cracked open and I pulled my StG to my shoulder and looked through the iron sights, ready to shoot.

I kicked open the door with a loud bang, making sure to clear both of my sides before entering the room like I had been taught. There were no soldiers, in fact the place seemed to be empty. As I turned to walk back out the door a soft whimpering caught my attention and I spun around to see a head peeking over a leather chair.