I promised I would protect you!
(Sequel to "Good Bye, Big Brother")
Why? Why did this happen?
This entire war… throughout all the death, the bombings, the gun shots, we've been so lucky, none of us were hurt; until now. The Axis attack came out of no where, the bombing hit hard…. And I was lucky…
The explosions stopped, my hearing was off, all I could hear was silence with continuous gun shots…. I sat here now in the middle of the battle field, trying to come back into reality… my eyes wouldn't adjust, I lost my glasses…. Damn it…
Blood dripped down onto my lap as I slowly lifted my hand to my head… my head was cut open… that explained the head ache… I slowly tried to lift myself up to my feet, I fell back down with the pain banging in my head… damn it… get up…
Suddenly, someone grabbed onto me, talking to me… I slowly looked up and saw England trying to talk to me… I can't hear him… he gets frustrated and quickly gets behind me. He puts his hands under my arms and starts to pull… he's trying to save me… my sight is fading in and out between darkness and the battle field… the bodies… the blood… my people… Finally… I lose it… and my sight fills with darkness…
My eyes opened again back in the safety of the dug out… I see Russia peeking over, shooting his gun off…. I see France picking up his weapon and getting ready… I see England looking over me… treating my head… I try speaking… "E-England…" I chock out, yes… I can speak… I can hear my own voice… my hearing is coming back!
"Your group was hurt in the bombing, just stay still." England said. I try thinking about what hat happened… we were walking out into the field, making it over after knowing the enemy had surrendered… me… Canada… China… England… and some of our troops… that's when the attack came…
I looked around… I see England… I see China being treated… but where's Canada?… Where's my little brother?…. "En-England… W-Where's Canada?…" I ask… my heart sank the second I saw him frown.
"He's still out there, we think he may be dead." my heart ached… no… not Mattie… not my little brother… no! I jump up and start to climb out of the ditch, England quickly grabs onto me and tries pulling me back… I can't leave him out there… I can't! Mattie!
"We can't leave him out there!" I yell, my pain was gone right now.
"America! We can't go out! It's too dangerous!" England yelled, France quickly grabbed onto me too now. "Stay down or you'll be shot you twit!"
"England! I can't leave him!" I yelled again… he's probably scared to death right now… he's probably hurt… oh god… he was hurt… I know it… "No man left behind! I won't leave him behind!" I promised him I wouldn't… I promised him I would protect him!…. What kind of big brother would I be… if I left him out there to die… "Let me go! If I get killed, it's my mistake! Let me go!"
"America! We can't let you throw your life away!" France yelled at me.
"France! That's your son out there! Don't you care! ?"
"I do…" France got upset. "But we can't reach him America."
"France, trust me! I'll reach him!" I said. France hesitated… but then let go. England held on more. "I won't leave him England… If it was me… you would be doing the same thing…" I told him. I saw the sorrow in his eyes… he let go.
I jumped out of the ditch and ran, I stayed low, ducked, and kept running… I fell down and stayed down, looking for him… Mattie… please… where are you… I couldn't see enough to see faces… damn it… I scan the bodies… all the soldiers… and… I could see him!… his hair… his bright hair… that has to be him… "Matthew! ! !" I yell, I could see him move a bit, he's alive! I quickly get back up and run again… I swear, a bullet went right past my head… "Matthew! ! !"
I feel in front of him and saw his eyes close, no, no wake up… please… be alive… I quickly take my glove off and check for any pulse… he's alive… thank god…
My god… the blood… his hair was drenched in it… his chest covered and still bleeding out… the wound… no… it would look like a miracle that he's still alive… I get to his side and put my hands under his back, then lift him up a bit… his head dangles back like he's already gone… I hold him in my arms… now to figure out my next move… I try yelling for the others… maybe they would help… "Someone help! Get help out here! France! England! Someone!"
"A-Al…" Canada chocks out… I can tell… he can barely breathe…
"Shh, Mat don't talk." I tell him. "J-Just hang in there, help is coming." I call out again for someone to come out and help…I realize they won't come out… I'm left alone with him… he won't survive if he doesn't get help… I start to tear up… I called out for help again… nothing… I cried out for help… nothing…
"A-Al…" he tried again. "G-go back…" he can barely breathe… "G-Get out…of h-here…"
"No way! Mattie! I won't leave you!" I cried. "Just hang with me, please, I'll get you back to safety and we'll get you help."
"A-Al…Please…go…" He tells me. "Y-You're being… S-stupid…"
"I'm not being stupid, I told you I won't go back without you." I've decided to carry him… it will hurt him… it will be painful… but it seems to be the only way… I try to get a better grip onto him. "Listen, I'm gonna lift you up and carry you back okay? This is gonna hurt." I give him a warning of it. I carefully try to lift him up… he cries out in pain… his painful cries break me and I gently bring him back down to give him a break… to give myself a break… "I'm sorry Mattie." I apologize and regain my grip onto him.
"Y-You moron… Y-you can't… Carry me b-back…" He tries taking a big breath to talk. "Y-You won't make it…" He's trying to get me to leave him… he's giving up… damn it no… Mat please just a little longer…
"Mattie, I will make it back with you, got it?" I tell him. "You're my little brother, I won't leave you to die, I promised you I would protect you! I'm not backing down from that promise!" that promise… I made it when we were kids didn't I?… when we started getting along… when France and England were at war… and you were scared… I promised that I would be your big brother… I promised I would protect you… I wouldn't let anyone harm you…
I already broke that promise….
"A-Al…" he tried speaking again… I felt him violently tremble in pain… as he coughed… his own blood… he coughed it up all over me… I can't stand seeing him like this… he doesn't deserve this… I want to cry… but that would only scare him more… "A-A…" he coughed again.
"Shh, Mattie don't talk," I calm my voice down to try to relax him… I'll try to pick him up again… I'll distract him… "Listen Mattie, you're not gonna die, you're gonna live, you'll come home with me, you'll see Kumajirou again," I tell him… I gently pick him up again… he screams again… I quickly try to get going and get back to the base… I talk to him… I tell him it will be okay… I try to calm his fear… "You'll see Kumajirou, you'll go home, and I'll make you as many pancakes as you want and you'll pour a whole bottle of maple syrup on it, just like you always do." I say… geez… all the time we spent together…. I always took it for granted…
"C-Can you…take care…O-of K-Kumajirou…" He asked me… You got his name right…You had to leave him behind so he wouldn't of been hurt… of course you miss him… of course you would worry…of course I would… but he would rather want you…
"No, I won't, cause you will. I told you you'll see him again." I say… he wants you…. Not me… I can see the dug out!… god… just a little longer… "Mattie we're almost there, just a little longer." I say… please… just stay with me a little longer…stay alive…
He tries to smile a bit at my words… that's the smile I've always loved… the one that made me happy after every depressing thing in my life… your laugh with it… it always made me laugh too…
I try looking for the ditch… I can hear his struggle to breathe… his gasp for air… "A-Al…" he started… "B-big brother…I-I love y-you…" I could feel my heart splitting… shattering….I love you so much… I don't want to lose you… you can't die! Don't do this!
"Mat! Don't you say that to me! Don't you give up!" I cry… I can see France getting everyone's attention… they know I'm close.. "We're so close! Please!" I look at his face… I can see a tear slowly running down his cheek… don't cry… please… no…
England jumps out of the ditch… what is he doing?… He starts heading towards me slowly, but staying close to the ditch… I got over quickly and England grabbed onto me… he's helping… he quickly protects me from any shooting and gets me into the ditch, then he jumped down with me. France quickly grabbed onto Canada as we laid him onto the dirt ground. "We need a doctor!" I yell. England tries calling medical units from the other side as I look at France checking his breathing and heart beat…. His face is filled with sorrow.
"America," he looked up at me with hurting eyes. "He's gone." my eyes widen..
"N-No… H-he can't be…" I stutter. "I was just talking to him! He can't be dead! No!"
"He's not breathing… He has no heart beat America." France said. "He's gone."
"No!" I scream. I get down to my knees and check my self, I lay my hear to his mouth, trying to hear any breathing with the rare silence of no gunshots… I can't hear anything… I-it could just be from noises of the battle… I put my hear to his chest… I couldn't hear anything… I couldn't feel his heart beating anymore… I lift myself up and just stare at him…
No…. no…. he can't be… he can't be!
"Matthew!" I cry. "D-Do CPR or something! W-we could bring him back! France! Do something!" I lose it and cry out…. France sits there… about to cry over his lost son… England stands there with his own sorrow… he doesn't know how to react to this….
I keep crying. "Do something!" I beg… do something… anything… I put my hands under Canada's body and lift him up again… I hold his lifeless body in my arms… come back… please come back… I brushed my finger across his cheek… he was still warm… or maybe it was just my imagination… damn it no… I look up at the sky… "Bring him back!" I scream. "He shouldn't have to die! Bring him back you bastard!" Why would you take him?… him out of everyone…
"A-America…" England tries to grab onto me as I cried more.
"Bring him back! Please! I'll do anything! Please!" I cry… God hear me… bring him back… I know he's with you… I know he wouldn't go to hell like me… "Take me! Please! Give him back!" I keep crying to the point I can't even talk anymore… please… he's the last person that deserved to die… he only wanted peace… he only wanted this war to end… he only wanted to go home… he shouldn't of suffered… he shouldn't of died… it should have been me… damn it! ! !
I promised I would protect him… what kind of horrible big brother… can't keep that kind of promise?…