"This is stupid!" Complained Gilbert from the back of the live that they had made. Gilbird tweeted in agreement. "Why are we going to this castle again?" The German questioned the people that were in front of him.
"Because this git at the front took a bet and it happened to include us in it," Arthur exclaimed in a not too enthused British accent as he pointed towards his younger brother Alfred.
"Ah, come on you guys, you wanted to come along," whined Alfred from the front of the line. "Come on Mattie let's go ahead!" He called to his girlfriend who was falling behind.
"Stop complaining and let's just get this over with!" Gilbert's younger brother Ludwig yelled, while holding his gun that he had brought along even tighter. "All we have to do is go inside that 'thing' for two hours and come back out."
"Please don't remind me West. I know my awesomeness can handle this situation but I'm worried about Gilbird getting hurt!" as he said this he brought his hand up to the top of his head where the little yellow bird was resting in his silver hair.
"Shut it albino, we don't need to hear another one of your 'I'm awesome' rants again!" Arthur yelled behind him.
"Hey you leave my brother alone!" Ludwig gave a warning glance towards the Brit.
"Hey look we're almost there." Mattie exclaimed making them all stop to look towards the abandoned castle. The castle, they noticed, was in a poor shape. It looked as if the bricks were starting to crumble and the roof was bowing at a dangerous rate.
"Yeah that looks so safe…" Arthur said sarcastically.
"Oh shut up!" Alfred yelled and his American accent became thicker. "You could have ignored the bet!"
"Well I had to make sure you would be alright!" Arthur said, trying to make himself look better.
"Oh, come on Arthur, Gilbert teased. "We all know you still think of Alfred as a child."
Arthur tried to make a cocky remark back but was silenced by the glare Mattie was giving him. "Alfred, why did you even take this bet in the first place?" Mattie asked.
"Because that bastard Francis was like 'Hoh hoh, you couldn't stay there even if it was of your own free will! Your just too much of a chicken!" Alfred tried to do a French accent as he attempted to imitate Francis. "And besides, the hero in me told me to do it!" He exclaimed with a smile on his face.
"That was your first problem!" Arthur smirked but it quickly faded as Mattie shot him another glare that was even more menacing than the last.
"Don't you dare talk to Alfred like that!" She stopped in her tracks and Arthur nearly slammed into her because of it. "You know very well that he is still hurt by the way that you basically disowned him as a brother when he was younger." There was a hiss in her voice and he cringed knowing very well what Mattie would do to him if he kept talking.
"QUIET! The lot of you!" Ludwig yelled, making everyone stop and look at him. "The more we argue the longer this stupid bet will take. Now if we all put our differences aside we can all have a good laugh from this stupid trip." As he finished he scanned his gun over all of them, telling them that he meant business.
"West, why are you always so serious?" Gilbert asked.
"That's because I've had to look over you and clean up the stupid things that you have done in the past."
"That says a lot coming from my younger brother," he sulked.
"Oh look, we're here," Alfred exclaimed loudly, interrupting the argument that was getting progressively worse.
The castle looked even more menacing as it loomed over them. All of the windows were boarded up and vines engulfed the entire front of the outer structure. Gilbert whistled, "Just look a this place," seeing the crumbling building. "I bet that thing will collapse while we're inside!"
"Come on let's go!" Alfred said enthusiastically while dragging Mattie with him to the door. Arthur followed close behind while Ludwig and Gilbert came up the rear. Alfred pulled on the chains at the door together and they fell off with ease. When he went to open the door however it wouldn't budge. "What the…" He mumbled as he pulled harder and harder on the door.
"Let me see it!" Arthur yelled, shoving Alfred out of the way. He pulled on the door and tried to get momentum by putting his foot on the other door. "Bloody door!" He grunted putting all of his weight into the door.
"Move!" Ludwig said. The rest moved away from the door as he pulled his gun out from behind him and aimed it at the door and shot off the lock.
"You're insane! We could have gotten it open a different way, you didn't have to shoot at it!" Arthur said exasperated.
"Well you guys would have bickered about it if I didn't," Ludwig exclaimed flatly while looking at both Arthur and Alfred who quickly looked away pretending not to hear. The door creaked open and Ludwig walked inside, his gun out in front of him.
"Don't leave me!" Arthur said hurriedly as he say everyone filing into the dark entrance. He got in behind Mattie and Alfred, who was now shaking while Mattie was trying to calm him. He was thinking about what Mattie had said earlier that really stung him. 'Is he really still hurt by that?' he asked himself. His thoughts were interrupted by Ludwig's yelling.
"Everyone get on the ground now!" Everyone was quick to follow the orders and dropped just in time to see this huge object jump onto a chandelier that was above them. It gave a moan and landed in a thud behind them, blocking the only way out.
"What the bloody hell is that!?" Arthur screamed as he tried to get up. All he could see was the outline of a figure that looked like a person but at the same time it didn't. The thing lunged right at him and he fell back in shock but it flew over him. He looked behind him to see that it was not him that the creature was lunging for but Mattie who happened to be behind him.
Alfred was in front of her in an instant. "GET OFF OF HER!" He screamed as he swung a thick piece of wood (that he found on the ground) at the thing's head. The aim was true and after a loud thwack the creature cringed but tried again.
"WEST! Do something!" Gilbert yelled, but as soon as he gave Ludwig orders the creature went after Alfred and threw him across the room and into a wall. "HOLY…" Gilbert tried to say but he was cut short as Arthur began to yell.
"Don't you dare hurt my brother! I'll kill you if you do!" He was beyond rage as he picked up the same piece of wood that Alfred had dropped and began to beat the creature mercilessly. The creature ignored the Brit even as blood dripped from its forehead and went back to Mattie who was now on the floor unconscious.
"Don't you dare," Ludwig warned the creature as he went over to Mattie before the thing could. He bent over her in means to protect her and began to shoot at it. Gilbert joined him and took out the knife that he had been hiding under his pant leg.
As Gilbert, Ludwig, and Arthur were attempting to protect Alfred and Mattie from the creature another one came up from behind the unconscious Mattie and before any of them noticed, the thing bit Mattie in the arm, which woke her up and made her scream.
Everyone that Gilbert, Ludwig, and Arthur turned when they heard the heart-wrenching scream. Gilbert and Ludwig whipped around and began to shoot at the creature that still had its teeth wrapped around her arm. The other creature saw the distraction as an opportunity and lunged at Alfred.
"Don't you even think about it!" Arthur yelled at the monster. "I won't let you take him away from me!" As he said this he ran at the monster.
The monster got to Alfred before Arthur caught up and grabbed Alfred's head lifting and swinging him in the air like a rage doll. Arthur saw the creature run its fingers across his scalp and he watched in horror as he saw blood pouring out of the gashes and pool on the floor below him. "STOP!" Arthur screamed as tears started streaming down his cheeks and he lunged at the beast, not caring for his own safety anymore.
He landed n the beast's back and started to claw at its eyes. Momentarily blinded it dropped Alfred. Then a loud screech erupted from the thing's mouth, which made Arthur, Gilbert, and Ludwig all cover their ears in agony. The two monsters that they were fighting took this opportunity and fled up a set of stairs in the back of the room.
Arthur ran over to Alfred, not caring what had become of the creatures. "Alfred, speak to me. Can you hear me? Answer." Arthur said in a rushed voice. He heard a moan escape from Alfred's lips.
Alfred opened his eyes, "What's going on? Did we win? What about Mattie?"
Arthur almost wanted to lie to him and tell him that he had nothing to worry about and that he saved the day all by himself but he knew better, "You were flung across the room and you have deep gashes on your head. No, we didn't win, they just ran off. Mattie is over there; I don't know how she is faring though. She was bitten by one of those monsters."
At this Alfred shot up, ignoring both the pain that was coming from his head and the protests of Arthur. He cleared the room in little time (making Arthur run after him) and when he got to Mattie he shoved both Ludwig and Gilbert to the side and laid her on his lap. Mattie?" Alfred asked the body below him. "Mattie, can you hear me?" Hot tears began to well up in his eyes. He checked her pulse. 'So she is still alive,' he thought as he felt a dull thump on his fingertips. "How did this happen?" He asked the others.
Ludwig was the first to answer, "We thought there was only one creature so we didn't think to protect both sides, we were only focusing on the one, if we had been paying attention we would have seen the other coming. I'm so sorry Alfred."
Alfred saw that she was still bleeding from the bite marks that she had received and ripped off some of his shirt that was not covered in blood. He wrapped it tight around her arm, making sure that it wouldn't come off on its own and said "There that should make it better," as tears started to fall on Mattie's cheek.
'We need to leave as soon as possible." Gilbert exclaimed flatly, not wanting to ruin the moment.
"Yes we do," Alfred agreed pulling Mattie into his arms, but as he stood up he fell making everyone run to his side.
"You should not be carrying Mattie," Ludwig said as he took Mattie from him. "Arthur help Alfred to his feet."
Alfred nearly crushed Arthur as he helped him up. Arthur looked around and asked, "Where is the doorway?"
Gilbert turned around to match Arthur's gaze. "What are you talking about? It's right over there…" he trailed off as he whirled around realizing that the door was no longer there. "Where the fudge did it go?" He said starting to get a little bit mad.
"Well what are we going to do now?" Alfred questioned. "Mattie has to be treated as soon as possible!"
"So do you git!" Arthur yelled to the American.
"Whatever," he shrugged the comment off, "I'm fine. It's just a few little scratches," he said as he wiped blood from his face with the back of his sleeve.
Ludwig handed Mattie to Gilbert, grabbed his gun that hung down at his side and started to walk off in the direction that the monsters went.
"Where are you going West?" Gilbert questioned. All he got was a grunt in response. "Dang it Ludwig, I hate it when you do this!" He set Mattie down as gently as he could and went to catch up to Ludwig who was already making his way up the stairs.
"Hey wait up," Arthur called up to them. "Alfred, you stay here and keep an eye on Mattie." He turned to help Alfred down into a sitting position.
"With what may I ask?"
"That bloody pistol you always bring with you."
"But I didn't bring it with me today."
"You're so useless," Arthur mumbled to himself. "Here," he handed Alfred the piece of board that he had used earlier. "Now don't go anywhere. You hear me?"
"I hear you captain," Alfred teased making a mock salute.
"Whatever," Arthur said under his breath as he started to turn and walk away.
Arthur caught up to Gilbert and Ludwig moments later. "How bad do you think Mattie really is?" he asked Ludwig.
"I don't think she's going to last the night if my calculations are right."
"Poor Alfred," Gilbert shook his head. "Having to go through all of this." Gilbird slowly tweeted a soft slow song.
Arthur hung his head in shame. He blamed himself for what had happened down there and he as going to make those bastards pay for what they did to Alfred and Mattie. 'It's all my fault,' he thought to himself as he thought about the gashes on the top of his brother's head.
"Hey," Gilbert whispered. "West spotted something up ahead. Try to keep it down."
Arthur nodded, wishing that he had brought something with him. Then it clicked. 'Oh my gosh I'm such a bloody moron.' He thought as he stopped and bent down to get the knife that he had stuck in his boot earlier.
"Get ready,' Ludwig warned. "Looks like we have some company," he said as he walked into the room to their right. Immediately his gun started to go off and Gilbert and Arthur could hear him cursing in German as bullets ricocheted off the floor.
"Ludwig!" Gilbert yelled. "Don't waste all your bullets in one sitting!" He ran in after his brother.
"Scheiße!?" Arthur heard Gilbert yell as he ran after him into the room.
He turned the corner and almost regretted it as he stopped dead in his tracks as he looked around seeing tons of those monsters that they had faced a few minutes ago. "Oh my god!" he gasped, "What have I done?" realizing that he had left Alfred and Mattie downstairs to fend for themselves. "Gilbert!" Arthur yelled over the gunshots, "I'm going back downstairs to help Alfred and Mattie, I fear that they might be in the same situation." Gilbert nodded in approval and Arthur turned and ran.
"Mattie, are you okay?" Alfred asked as he heard a faint groan escape her lips as he stroked her soft hair. He was leaning against the wall so that he could watch the surrounding, Mattie's head placed carefully on his lap.
CRASH! 'What was that?' he wondered looking around. "I'm going to have to get up now Mattie, don't leave," he said as a small smile came to his face. He slowly put Mattie's head on the floor and pushed himself up with the help of the wall. As he got up he felt pain shoot through his whole body, which made him keel over in pain. "I gotta be more careful," he laughed the pain away, pretending it wasn't there and got in front of Mattie to protect her. "Come on! Give me all you got!" he yelled into the darkness of the room.
At this comment a shadow came out from behind the staircase and started to charge. (Alfred noticed that it didn't run like a human and it was way too fast to even think it was a human.) It was in front of Alfred in an instant, making him fall back a little at the shock. The smell of the thing was horrendous; it smelled of three-week-old garbage and its breath wasn't much better. "Man dude, you really need a tic tac," Alfred teased as he raised the board to swing. The monster as faster though and dodged the first blow but it lost its balance and Alfred hit it right on the square of its back.
It recoiled back in pain but quickly recovered in time to give Alfred a blow to the head as he set up his next blow. He fell back over Mattie and landed just behind her, leaving her exposed. The monster started towards her but Alfred sprung to his feet and was able to block a deadly blow.
Arthur ran down the staircase as fast as he could. He finally reached the bottom of the stairs as he saw his brother sitting behind Mattie. "Ah, good," he let out a sigh of relief but quickly regretted what he said as he saw his brother jump in front of her at something. Arthur leaned farther and realized what he was jumping at.
"NO!" he screamed but Alfred didn't hear him as the monster brought its claws up to Alfred in midair and ripped him to shreds with ease. Arthur threw his knife as hard as he could and it hit the creature right in the heart causing the monster to teeter on his feet before crumpling to the ground to the left of Alfred. "Alfred!" Arthur yelled to his brother and to his horror there was no response. He ran to his brother.
"Alfred, you better answer me or I'm cutting your supply of ice cream," this usually woke up him up from anything and he began to freak out. Arthur shook him trying to wake him up but to no avail. Blood was oozing faster now and it was beginning to pool underneath him.
"Alfred?" Arthur heard a quiet voice whisper. It was Mattie.
"Mattie! Alfred! Mattie!" Arthur was starting to have a mental breakdown with all that was going on. "I need to stop Alfred from bleeding to death!" he drabbed the buttons of his shirt and tore it off and proceeded to tear it into strips to tie around Alfred's torso."
"What's wrong with him?" Mattie demanded to know.
"He was badly injured trying to protect you!" Arthur yelled but not meaning to be rude.
"Alfred! What can I do to help?"
"I don't know," Arthur said beginning to break down into tears, "I just don't know."
Mattie shuffled over with all the energy that she could muster and grabbed onto Alfred's head cradling it in her lap. "Why did you have to do this?" There was no response. "I demand and ANSWER Alfred Jones!" she was now trying to get him to sit up but he had lost so much blood that they were losing him faster and faster.
"Mattie. Is that you?" Alfred asked in a hushed tone.
"Yes of coarse it is and Arthur too." Mattie said her voice barely audible because of the tears that she was trying to hold back.
"Please don't cry in front of the dying," he laughed as he coughed up blood, "it's kinda rude," he said with a smirk on his face.
"Oh Alfred," Arthur said, "Always making light of any subject," this made Mattie let out a giggle.
"Alfred please, this is a serious situation," Mattie told him as she composed her face again. "Alfred."
"What?"
"Please don't leave me. I need you, Arthur needs you, and as much as you don't want to admit it but Francis needs you too. Besides I have a surprise for you but I need you to stay alive to fid out what it is," She stated as tears started to fall onto Alfred's cheeks. She noticed that Alfred's eyes were losing the bright blue that they once had and fresh tears came to her eyes. Arthur came up behind her and pried her away from Alfred in time to say his goodbyes.
"Alfred, I know that I haven't been the best older brother in the world, but I've tried to make it up to you. I realize that without you my live would be worthless."
"Please Arthur, don't get sappy on me. Yell at me tell I failed at life and that you were right all along that one day my actions would be the death of me," he chuckled at that, making him cough more blood up.
"Fine you want to here that here you go," Arthur cleared his throat, "You, my younger brother, are a git, you never listened to me and it's your own fault that you are dying right now!"
"Now that's the Arthur I know," as Alfred said this his breath became weaker and it eventually died out.
Mattie ran to his side clutched his head and repeatedly kissed his cheeks, begging him to stop fooling around. Arthur grabbed her and ignoring her protests and attempted to sling her over his shoulder. At that however she beat him in the back and demanded that if he was going to carry her it would have to be a different way. He didn't complain, so he scooped her up into his arms and they silently walked towards the staircase and ascended into the darkness.
"West!" Gilbert screamed as his brother fell to the floor after one of the creatures wacked his arm snapping it in two.
"Gilbert leave, I will be fine." Ludwig gave him the order as he attempted to stand back up, but Gilbert being Gilbert, ignored it.
"Not without you. I don't know what I'd do without you in my life." Ludwig laughed at this, knowing all too well what his brother would do and the trouble he would cause without him beating some morale into him.
Gilbert was on a roll now. He had gotten into a pattern of stab, turn around, stab, as the monsters came at him one right after another. He happened to glance at the door as Arthur walked in holding a knife in one hand and holding onto Mattie with the other. "Where's Alfred?" Gilbert questioned, though already guessing what had happened by the reaction that came from Mattie. Arthur looked at him and shook his head. "Oh," he said, not wanting to hurt either of them anymore.
"Gilbert, look out!" Arthur screamed at him.
Gilbert whirled around to see some fingernails arching down towards what was up until a moment ago his back. He put his arms up to try and block the nails but it was futile. The nails put huge washes into both of his arms and then they caught the skin of his abdomen, tearing the muscle that was so carefully knit. "Ah…" Gilbert faltered for words as he crumpled to the floor, while holding his stomach, in agonizing pain. He could feel warm blood pulsing into his shirt and down onto the floor. He leaned forward and fell to the floor, suddenly feeling very tired. "Ludwig?" he called to his brother. "I'm not feeling too good."
Ludwig ran over to Gilbert and tried to stop the bleeding. Arthur was behind them, helping in anyway he could. "What should I do?" Arthur asked hurriedly.
"We need to find an exit now," Ludwig explained picking up Gilbert and running to the room's entrance.
Arthur ran after him, making sure that Mattie's head didn't hit anything as he ran. He followed Ludwig for what felt like forever but the he suddenly turned left. Arthur nearly slammed into a wall because as soon as he turned left there was a wall. "Bloody German, slow down. It's not going to help any if we don't stay together!"
Ludwig ignored him as he looked down at his brother seeing that he was becoming even paler than the albino should be. He pushed himself even harder as he felt a breeze waft past his face. "I think I found an exit," he called back to Arthur. He followed the breeze until he came to a little room with no window.
"Why are we in here?" Arthur asked.
He only shushed him as he scanned his hand over the walls until he found where the breeze was coming from. He took out his gun, "Stand back," he warned Arthur. He began to shoot a circular shape into the wall trying to make the area weak so that he could just break it with his own weight.
"There, that should do it," he said satisfied. He leaned against the wall and it started to crumble under his weight.
"Amazing!" Arthur said taking a look through the hole that the German had made. "Let's go!" As he said this he heard a shuffling behind him and realized it was one of those monsters. "You bastard!" Think you could steal away my brother and his girlfriend in the same shot huh?" he said thoroughly outraged now.
"Now's not the time to be yelling tat those things." Ludwig told him, already half way out of the hole in the wall.
Arthur was about to respond when the creatures started to back away as more light seeped into the room. "Hurry!" he yelled to Ludwig. "They don't like the light."
They both hurried out the hole and onto the ground, Arthur nearly falling as Mattie slipped into unconsciousness and became unbalanced. Running to the path they had come from earlier they realize that the creatures would soon be on them soon because the sun was starting to set. They ran as fast as they could knowing that civilization was just a little less than a mile away.
"Hurry!" Ludwig yelled as a branch hit Arthur in the face. "We don't have much time left," looking at the ever-fast setting sun.
They could see the town now and as they got closer people started to come out of their houses wondering what was going on, but they both ignored them knowing that the best place to go would be Francis' house since he was a doctor.
"Francis! Open the bloody door, you git!" Arthur demanded pounding on the door as they reached the house. They both head a faint response. "What?" Arthur asked.
"I asked 'why have you come to my house at such an odd time?'" Francis sated as he was opening the door. When he saw Mattie and Gilbert however, he rushed them inside. "What happened?" he asked as he escorted them to the living room so that they could lay Gilbert and Mattie down.
He quickly got all the medical supplies that he would need from his hall closet and started on Gilbert. Arthur and Ludwig explained what had happened since they had left that morning.
He was finishing up Gilbert as they finished their story. He walked over to Mattie and took a blood test before he did anything to harm her in any way (it being medication or anything she might be allergic too). "Ah," he gasped.
"What?" Arthur asked looking more worried than before.
"You need to get her to the hospital right away!"
"Why?" Ludwig asked.
"I am not authorized to say one of the things but the other is that she is infected with a deadly virus and if it isn't treated soon it will spread and you will have more on your plate than you could have ever imagined Arthur," Francis said, looking Arthur straight in the face.
"May I use your car?" Arthur asked, already scooping Mattie up into his arms and walking to the door.
"But of coarse. In fact I will drive." Francis stated.
They had gotten to the hospital in record time thanks to Francis' driving. Ludwig had joined them a little while ago when he confirmed that Gilbert would be alright. Now they were waiting to see if Mattie had gotten to the hospital on time.
"Who is here with a Miss Williams?" the doctor asked referring to Mattie. To the shock of the doctor all three stood up. "Okay, well… Who is closest to Miss Williams?"
Arthur stood up, "I am sir."
"Come with me." The doctor walked away behind the doors and Arthur quickly followed, fearing the worst. "She gave us quiet a scare when she didn't wake up from her slumber after we gave her the antidote but apparently it took longer than expected because of a secret that she has. What a shame though," the doctor tisked, "having to bring a child into this mess, of all things."
'A child? What did he mean by a child?' Arthur wondered as the doctor led him into the room.
"I will leave you to her now," the doctor made a sight bow before exiting the room.
"Mattie?" Arthur whispered. "Are you up?"
"Yes Arthur I'm up," sounding depressed.
"What's wrong? I heard the doctor talk about bringing a child into this mess; what did he mean?"
"Oh, I just wanted to have a simple life Arthur now my life will be hectic and life changing." She began to cry as she said this and she leaned against Arthur as he sat down onto the bed that the hospital had put her in.
"Nothing has changed Mattie," he cooed, trying to sooth her.
"Yes it has Arthur!" she said with a venomous tone making Arthur cringe. "When are you going to get it through your thick head!"
He sat back at this not knowing why she was all of a sudden yelling at him. Then he realized it as he put the pieces together. "You're pregnant aren't you?" she only nodded as more tears soaked his shoulder. "And the child is Alfred's," he said solemnly as Mattie burst out into tears at the name.
"I just don't know what to do Arthur?"
"Don't worry about anything Mattie, I will make sure that everything is taken care of and you don't have to work more than you have to. It's the least I can do to repay my brother for al of the pain I've caused him in the past," he vowed and Mattie gave him a hug.
"Thank you Arthur. Alfred would have loved that," she nodded. "I know that you probably wouldn't believe this but he loved you even if he didn't show it," her voice went to a whisper and she collapsed onto the bed causing Arthur so jump up and yell for the doctors.