This Little War Of Mine

Four - The Raid

Dimitri and Anya talked into the night. About their childhoods, where they grew up. They shared eachother's stories of where they were during the invasion.

After World War 2, the Cold War began, between the US and Russia. It was a stalemate between the two countries, and threats about firing ICBM's (Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles) were made. The US eventually pressed the button first, but Russia was a big country. And a big country means bigger and better weapons.

Stalingrad was America's target, as it had been weakened from the siege in '41. Washington DC was Russia's target. The Russians had much larger missiles, and the attack flattened Washington, and turned a lot of the US into a deserted wasteland. Florida was one of the only barely inhabitable states.

While the American missile was planned to hit Stalingrad, there was a mechanical fault which hit Greenland instead. This was a major fuckup for the United States, as hitting Greenland dumped a load of freshwater into the ocean, and that had a monumental effect on the East coast's climate. So when Russia invaded through New York during the winter, they were right in their element and were used to the cold climate.

The United States eventually tried again and hit Stalingrad, but most of the city had evacuated. Joseph Stalin then ordered the Russian army to invade the United States.

Dimitri and Anya had both ended up sitting on the floor, leaning against an old wooden dresser. Anya yawned and rubbed her eyes. Dimitri stood up, picked her up and put her gently down onto the second bed in his room. "Sleep, da?"

He strode out of the room with his hands in his pockets. He wanted to head to the bar again, as he was still parched from the journey from Petrov's place.

Dimitri stepped into the bar again and took a seat. "Ah, the mysterious stranger returns! What can I get ya?" The bartender said, wiping down a beer glass.

"I am okay for now, but thank you. Eh.. that piano over there.." Dimitri nodded to the old piano by the fireplace. "Is it still in working order?"

"Yeah of course man. I mean we have no one to play it, but you're welcome to. Tell you what, if folks like what they hear, your next drink is on the house." The bartender had put away the glass and was now leaning on the table.

Dimitri thought for a minute, then stood up and walked over to the piano. He hadn't played properly since he was 17. He knew a lot of old bar music from as early as 1910.

Around the year 2014, popular song artists started to put their albums on vinyl records, to bring them back and make themselves seem retro. Dimitri had found a bunch of old records in the basement of his house when he was younger, and played them on his father's record player.

Dimitri played old ragtime bar music until the early hours of the morning, and most of the customers had left.

"Where'd you learn to play, man?" said the bartender.

"Ah, I used to play the piano in a friend's bar a long time ago. My father had a piano so I used to learn to play when I was bored."

"Well how about this. For every night you play that piano and keep my customers happy, you drink for free."

"Well, I guess I will take you up on that offer then." Dimitri and the bartender shook hands like they were old friends. "But I must go, my friend. I will come back tomorrow night, da?"

"Sure man, I'd love to have you back here. The crowd loves you! And the name's Jim, by the way."

***

"Dimitri! Up here, my friend!" Artyom called from on top of the train carriage. Dimitri looked around to find the source of the voice, then looked up to find Atryom leaning against a railing, motioning for him to join him.