a world alone [hbo war / band of brothers]

1: prologue // christmas, 1945

UPDATED: 05/22/2022. I began to revise the sequel (again). Because of how long this book is so far (at least 145 pages), I won't update all of these before I publish the tenth chapter...which should be soon! I do have the major plot points outlined, all I need to do is write. However, I am feeling motivated and I want to finish this story, so here we are!

Enjoy the prologue! I enjoy it, mainly because I got to write about my OCs :) God, love them.

Minor edits in this chapter, mainly fixing grammar, clarity, and flow.

As a reminder for readers: When the Kleins speak German, the dialogue will most likely be italicized in English. This is convenient for readers (and myself). I like to imagine that Madison is telling us this story, so in a way, her narrative is translating German for us. She's just that nice. :D

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The months of December and January were hard for Madison Klein. It was hard for any Easy Company member that went through the wintry hell of Belgium and later France, but this story isn't about Easy Company. This story is about Madison E. Klein, former medic of the 101st Airborne Division, and how she handled coming back to civilian life after spending the last four years away from home, training for and eventually going to war against the Germans, the former home of her paternal family long before she was born.

Did Madison ever regret signing up? No. Her time in the service taught her how to endure and survive in the worst scenarios. She made friends that were now her family in all ways but blood. The people she served with were, quite honestly, the best group of men she ever knew. They were loyal to one another, and Madison would do absolutely anything for them. They would do anything for her in return, too. They were her family and in a way, also raised her during her latter teenaged years. Sure, she was technically still a teenager, not yet twenty, but she was no longer a child. She was no longer the little girl that her family and friends knew. The girl they knew before the war was not yet sure of herself, somewhat naive and insecure, and wanted to do the right thing. When she returned, she was all but a ghost, a shell of the girl they once knew. It was sad.

Matthew, Sr. and Marlene Klein, Madison's parents, are heartbroken. Months ago, their eldest son and child, Matthew, Jr., was killed in the Pacific. His body was never sent home, buried on Okinawa. All they had were his medals and a photo of him in his uniform. After three months of being notified of their son's death, and a month after the Second World War was officially over, their firstborn daughter came home. Oh, how they were so happy. The happiness didn't last too long, however, when they realized how much misery their daughter was going through.

Madison was a trooper in every word. She jumped out of airplanes and survived a war. She suffered through her pain with no complaints. She was stubborn and refused help of any sort (or at least tried to). In her opinion, she didn't need it and she sure as hell didn't want it. It was her own burden to bear, not anyone else's.

Her family thought otherwise.

Madison had both night terrors and hallucinations. She broke down very easily. She would smoke and drink, and overall not take care of herself properly. She was sick and needed help. The final straw was when she had a very severe panic attack when it started snowing, out of all the things. Snowing.

Matthew, Sr. and Marlene decided that enough was enough. If Madison couldn't recoup at home, then she could try somewhere else. They decided, with the agreement of Matthew, Sr.'s brother and his wife, that Madison would stay with them for the time being down in the south.

At first, Madison was angry about it. She felt like her parents didn't want her around anymore, and it felt as if someone stabbed her heart with a bayonet. (Market Garden. MIA. Bull. Strangled. Dead German.) It had really hurt her for a while. After talking to her twin sister, Morgan, Madison realized that maybe the change in scenery would be good. It didn't mean that she had to like it, but she would do it. She would do it for her family. She knew that she needed to get better, but it was just so hard.