Authors' Note:
FG.22: Heyyyyyy everyone! Well well well, a new fic here! Yes, yes, I have plenty of other ones that need to be finished, but don't worry! This one will get done. ;) This is actually a fun little project that's being written by both me and the lovely Little Misanthrope (her fanfiction account) also known as ohmygoditsamber on tumblr!
Since both of us have been mourning over the fact that there aren't many Hetalia horror fics that AREN'T about snapped characters or 2p!talia, we decided to rectify that!
We hope you will enjoy our little epic. And if you can guess what we're crossing Hetalia over with, you get cookies. ;) Now, let's begin!
Chapter 1
It was the end of senior year. Three friends, Gilbert, Elizaveta and Alfred had just graduated from high school and were eager to kick off their summer with a trip to a woodland cabin with Alfred's older brother and his friend, Ivan. They would be staying out in the woods for a whole weekend and Alfred especially was excited. It had been quite a long time since he had been able to spend time with his older brother, and he loved the outdoors. At around one in the afternoon, the well-known car that belonged to Arthur pulled up in the driveway of Alfred's home, where he and his two friends were waiting.
After the car rumbled to a stop, Arthur stepped out of it and smiled at the teenagers. He was about to introduce himself to his younger brother's friends when Alfred ran at him and pulled him into a tight hug.
"What's up, bro? I missed you!" Alfred grinned brightly at his brother. "This is Gilbert and Elizaveta." He pointed at his friends before noticing the other person in Arthur's car. "Is that Ivan?"
"That's right," Arthur answered as he gestured for his friend to come out of the car. "He's a bit of a quiet fellow, but he's a good egg. I thought a weekend out in the woods would do him good. We've both been stressed out from midterms, you see."
Arthur smiled as he ruffled his brother's hair. "I'm so glad to see you, Al," he spoke fondly.
Grinning, Alfred playfully swatted his hands away before going back over to his friends. "Let's put our stuff in the car!" He grabbed his bags before heading over to the car, leaving Gil to try and carry his bags and Elizaveta's at the same time.
"I can do it myself, Gil." She grabbed her bags and his own before walking off to the car.
Gilbert shrugged and raised his hands up, palms facing outwards. "Whatever you say, babe," he said. "Hey, Al, it was real nice of you to invite us to the cabin! I can't wait to kick back and relax!" He grinned.
"Hey, is there a lake where we're going?" He suddenly asked.
"A lake?" Alfred shrugged before looking over at his brother. "Artie, is there a lake near the cabin?"
Elizaveta rolled her eyes as she helped Alfred pack the trunk. "We're not going skinny dipping, Gilbert. Okay?"
"Yeah! That's how people get killed in horror movies! They do stupid stuff like that!" Yes, Alfred really did believe in slasher movie logic. It would keep them alive, after all!
"Aw, c'mon. I only asked because I packed my bathing suit!" Gilbert laughed. He was a pretty laid back fellow, who always knew how to have fun. That was probably why he and Al were friends. "Plus, you're the one who suggested skinny dipping, Liz. Not me."
Elizaveta rolled her eyes and shut the trunk before going over to Gil and throwing an arm around his shoulders. "I know. I helped you pack, remember?" She laughed a bit and mussed up Gilbert's hair.
"Well, I think there is a small lake... We can go swimming later." Arthur said, once the three friends stopped chatting, and he smiled before getting back into his car. "We should get going. It's not far, but I would like to get there before nightfall."
The younger ones hustled into the car and Ivan and Arthur returned to their seats. As they began their drive, they decided to get to know one another a little better.
"So, where are you from, Ivan?" Gilbert asked the quiet man.
Ivan peered at Gilbert from the rearview mirror. "Moscow."
"How'd ya meet Artie? Are you guys in the same classes?" Alfred leaned forward, sticking his head in the gap between the two front seats.
A small smile was on Ivan's face. "We both have the same language classes."
"Yes," Arthur said as he continued to focus on the road. "We are in Latin together."
"Though he's much better at dead languages than I am," Ivan said amusedly.
"Arthur's always been good with weird, old shit." Alfred laughed and sat back as his brother turned to frown at him. "I'm kidding! Calm down, Artie."
With a sigh, Arthur glanced at the kids in the back seat and turned his attention to Elizaveta. "How do you put up with these two?"
"With a looooot of patience," she said, with a longsuffering sigh.
"Aw, what does that mean?" Gilbert exclaimed. "You know you're the one who chased after me!" He winked.
"I did nothing of the sort, Gilbert. That was you. Even Alfred can prove it." Elizaveta laughed at that and glanced over at Alfred. "Isn't that true, Alfred?"
The blond teenager laughed before elbowing his friend in ribs. "It's true, Gilbert. You whined about her ignoring you for soooo long."
"Ugh. Whatever. You two are no fun," Gilbert pouted and sat back in his seat.
Alfred laughed again and relaxed, trying to get comfortable for the long drive. The car passed through the town and onto a road that would lead out to the massive spread of woods that lay beyond. It took a good hour or two before they passed by a lake. They could look out the windows and see the water down below.
The three in the back seat glanced out their windows, looking at the lake. That meant that they could go swimming later!
Soon the car turned onto a rougher, dirt road and they came upon an old bridge.
"Can it hold us?" Ivan asked as the car came to a halt.
Alfred looked through the windshield and frowned at the rickety old bridge. "Should we get out while you drive over, Arthur?"
"Hmm... Yes, that might be wise," his brother said.
The car stopped and the four of them got out, walking carefully over the bridge, followed by Arthur in the car. The bridge creaked and groaned from the weight, but Arthur continued to move forward slowly.
Alfred nervously walked over the bridge, trying not to glance down at the water below them. He jumped a little when he felt someone grab his arm and he looked up, trying to smile a little bit at Elizaveta. "I'm okay, Liz..."
"Just keep walking, Alfred... Don't look down, alright?"
He nodded and glanced back at the car as it continued to slowly cross the bridge. Ivan was in front of it, walking backwards to keep an eye on the bridge.
"Slowly," he said. "That's right. You're good."
But the bridge continued to make worrisome noises. When Alfred, Elizaveta and Gilbert had crossed to the other side, they watched worriedly as the car followed. Arthur continued to drive slowly, trying to ignore the noises that the bridge was making. He finally made it across the bridge and sighed in relief. When they returned home, he would be sure to tell the park service to fix up the bridge.
"All right!" Gilbert cheered. "That was some good driving there, man!" He said, running up to Arthur's window.
Arthur grinned and waved to the other to get back inside. "Let's be on our way again!"
Alfred, Ivan and Elizaveta went back over to the car and got inside, glad to be off that shaky, old bridge.
"How much further until we get to the cabin, Artie?" Alfred leaned forward again, watching his older brother start to drive through the woods again.
"Not too far now. Only half a mile."
"Good! Because my legs are getting cramped from being squeezed inside this little car," Ivan murmured good-naturedly.
Alfred grinned and sat back, glad that they were almost there. Plus, he wanted to claim a bedroom first.
The half a mile didn't last long and soon the five of them saw a small, run down cabin looming before them. It looked like it hadn't been lived in for several years.
"THAT is the cabin you were talking about?" Gilbert exclaimed, giving Alfred a side-long glance.
Alfred shrugged a little bit. "Well... We haven't exactly been able to go for a few years... I mean, you know how crazy mine and Artie's families were." He felt his ears turning red, embarrassed by the fact that the family cabin he had raved about to his friends looked like crap.
"We should have hired a cleaning person or something," Arthur muttered. He pulled up the car right in front of the cabin and put it in parking. For a minute the five of them just stared at the small structure. It was a mere three-bedroom, sparse little thing. The wood was chipping, the windows were shuttered and there was one lone swing on the front porch just barely swaying in the wind.
Alfred chewed on his lower lip before glancing back over at his friends. Gilbert shrugged and gently pushed Elizaveta to the car door. "What are we waiting for? Let's go pick our rooms!"
That was enough incentive for them all to get out of the car. They stretched for a minute or two before heading to the cabin's door.
Elizaveta poked Alfred on the arm and smiled. "For what it's worth," she said, "I don't think it's too bad. It's got kind of an old, artsy feel to it!"
"Thanks Liz..." Alfred smiled at her, glad that he had a friend like her. Gilbert was fun to goof around with but Liz was always great at making people feel better.
Gilbert ran ahead with Arthur and Ivan to open the cabin. He knew Alfred wanted first pick of the rooms and he was going to beat him to it!
Arthur reached up for the doorpost. "There should be a key up there. At least that's what our dad said," he said, grunting as he tried to reach up.
Ivan chuckled. "Need help?"
Alfred grabbed Elizaveta's arm and dragged her over to the door. "Artie, you're so short!" He teased his older brother, knowing just which button to push to annoy him.
"Shut up, Al," Arthur said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "before you find yourself flying head first into the window there."
With a laugh, Alfred hid behind Elizaveta, just in case his brother did decide to throw him through the window. He heard Gilbert laughed at him and he stuck his tongue out at his friend. "Shut it, Gil!"
"Why else do you think he keeps me around?" Ivan joked as he grabbed hold of a key lying on top of the door post.
"You know what? I think we could get used to this guy," Gilbert smirked. "I like his sense of humor."
Ivan chuckled in response.
"Ugh. No respect around here!" Arthur groused out. He playfully punched Ivan in the shoulder as his friend unlocked the door.
Elizaveta smiled, glad that Gilbert seemed to like Ivan. Her boyfriend always seemed to have trouble making friends, which was why she was glad that he and Alfred had been friends for so long. "Alright, how are we going to split up the rooms?"
"Looks like someone's the odd one out here," Gilbert teased as Ivan opened the door
Rolling her eyes, Elizaveta playfully shoved Gilbert. "Of course. I wouldn't share a room with you if I had to," she teased.
"Well, how about you have a room to yourself and us four guys share the other two," Arthur offered graciously. Elizaveta thanked him, grateful that she wouldn't have to make the decision herself. It was a bit awkward.
Alfred grinned and dragged Gilbert into the cabin. "Let's get the bigger room, Gil, before Arthur does!"
"Hey! I'm the one who will have to share a room with Mr. Gargantuan here!" Arthur objected, jabbing a thumb in Ivan's direction.
"I guess I deserve that," Ivan smirked.
Alfred turned and stuck his tongue out at Arthur before shoving Gil into the large bedroom. "This is the best room, Gil!"
"Aw yeah! Score!" The two shared a high five.
Meanwhile, the other three were surveying the inside of the cabin. Besides the bedrooms and the one bathroom down the hall, there was one wide open living room with a fireplace, a desk, some chairs and a sofa. There was also a kitchen and a table where they would eat meals. It wasn't very big but it was pretty homey.
Elizaveta stepped into the cabin, glancing over the things they would have to fix up. "Is there a broom here, Arthur? There's a lot of dirt and leaves on the floor. Do you think someone broke in?" There didn't seem to be any broken windows, so she didn't know how else the cabin could have gotten so messy.
"There should be one in the closet over there." Arthur pointed to a small closet near the kitchen.
"Do other people stay here?" Ivan asked, taking note of the mess on the floor.
"Not that I know of, but you never know." Arthur shrugged. "People like us may have gotten in here for a weekend. The key's not too hard to find."
Finding the broom, Elizaveta started to clean up. The cabin actually didn't look too bad once most of the dirt was gone. She made Alfred and Gilbert bring in the luggage and had Arthur and Ivan clean up the kitchen. What? Cleaning the kitchen was important!
"You guys done yet?" Gilbert asked, sticking his head into the kitchen. "We're gonna go swimming!"
Arthur rolled his eyes and set down his cleaning supplies. "Fine, fine. We'll go swimming."
"All right! Hey, Al! Art and Ivan are coming!" He called, running for the back door that led out to a small makeshift dock on the lake.
Alfred grinned, having gotten changed with Gilbert. He ran after him, leaving Elizaveta rolling her eyes at them as Ivan and Arthur put the cleaning supplies away and went to go get changed.
"You coming, Elizaveta?" Ivan asked.
She glanced at Ivan and nodded. "Yes, just let me go get changed."
… … …
The lake water was cool, just perfect in the warm weather outside. It was also deep enough to dive into and to fully swim around in. As Elizaveta walked out onto the deck in her swimsuit, she watched as the guys splashed around and dunked each other. At the moment, they were having the hardest time dunking Ivan, who was the biggest of the four guys.
Alfred swam over to Ivan, trying to push him under the water but failing. He laughed, deciding to just splash Ivan while Gilbert and Arthur tried to shove Ivan under the water.
Elizaveta laughed. "Why don't you guys just give up?" she teased.
"Because he's dunked all of us!" Gilbert yelled back at her, trying to push Ivan back under the water. Meanwhile, Ivan just continued to tread along with that serene smile on his face.
"I dunno," Elizaveta said. "It seems like a lost cause."
"Well, let's see you try!" Gilbert shouted back.
Alfred gave up and climbed back onto the dock, trying to catch his breath. "It's impossible to dunk him! He has some type of magic power!"
She laughed. "Magic power? Don't tell me you believe in that stuff, Al!"
"Well... not really. Artie does though. He keeps trying to make me believe in it." Alfred laughed and sat down next to her. "Do you?"
She shook her head, continuing to watch as her boyfriend and Alfred's brother kept tackling poor Ivan. She could tell that they were all having a blast, though.
"Nah. It's hard for me to believe in something I can't see."
"Yeah. I mean... I think ghosts are scary but I've never actually seen one, so... I guess maybe they don't exist."
Elizaveta shrugged. "Well, who knows? All those ghost hunters and priests think something is out there. Maybe we'll never know for sure."
"I guess not. I'm totally okay with that!" Alfred grinned, glad that he had never actually seen anything supernatural, despite his brother's insistence on its existence.
"Hey! You gonna actually do some swimming, Liz? Or did you just bring that swimsuit to get some sun?" Gilbert said, swimming up to the dock.
"Fine, fine." Elizaveta stood up and jumped off the dock, splashing Gilbert as she landed in the water.
"Ohhh cannonball... Is that how it's gonna be?" He challenged when she surfaced.
"Of course." Elizaveta grinned at him before splashing him again.
He wasted no time in making his move. With a maniacal laugh, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her in the air, tossing her into the water.
"GILBERT!" she shouted.
Alfred laughed, glad that he was safe on the deck.
"Someone is dead meat," Ivan giggled.
"Ach! Help me, guys!" He laughed, trying to swim away from his angry girlfriend.
Elizaveta swam after him, catching up quickly and dunking him under the water.
"You totally deserved that," Arthur crowed, swimming beside Gilbert as he spluttered back up.
"Man, why are you always so violent, Liz?" Gilbert whined.
"Because it's the only way to keep you in line!" Elizaveta smiled before swimming around a little more.
They spent the rest of the afternoon just fooling around in the lake. When the sun began to set, they headed back inside to dry off and change clothes. It was nearly supper time when they all sat around the fireplace.
"So, who wants to cook tonight?" Arthur asked.
"Not you!" Alfred laughed as he scooted away from Arthur so his brother wouldn't hit him.
"I agree," Ivan chimed in. "I have tasted your cooking, Arthur, one too many times." He shuddered.
Arthur glared at the two of them. "And you call yourselves my brother and best friend."
"Friends are honest with each other." Ivan grinned.
"I can cook!" Gilbert offered.
"He's actually not bad," Elizaveta said, smiling at her boyfriend.
"Yeah! I can grill some steak or whatever. What did we bring?" He asked, looking at Alfred.
"I brought burgers!" Alfred grinned and got up to help Gilbert with the food.
"Why am I not surprised?" Arthur chuckled.
Out back there was an old shed where fortunately the two guys found a semi-rusty grill. Dragging the grill onto the front porch, the two friends started to grill up the burgers while the other three made some side dishes. Alfred dashed back inside to grab the right amount of condiments and additions for the burgers. He stressed that the only way they could eat them were if they were cheeseburgers and the others were too amused to object. Soon the burgers were grilled, the side dishes were prepared and everything was placed on the table.
The five friends sat down to eat, joking and laughing and having fun. They were all silenced when a loud bang came from the living room. No one moved for a moment before finally Elizaveta got up, determined to check things out.
"Maybe it's just an animal that got inside..."
"It must have been a big animal, then," Arthur muttered.
"Wait! Be careful, Liz!" Gil said, jumping up from his seat. He quickly strode up to her side.
Elizaveta grabbed the broom she had leaned against the wall earlier, holding it up to hit something just in case. The three still sitting down got up and followed her out into the living room. Slowly and carefully they looked around the room for any sign of intrusion. There was no sign of an animal in the cabin, however, and they couldn't hear any sort of scurrying or scratching.
"Do you see anything?" Arthur asked. He peered into the fireplace.
Alfred glanced around and noticed the cellar door was open. "Artie...? Did you go down to the basement earlier?"
They all looked at him. Sure enough, Alfred was standing in a corner of the room, peering down at what looked to be a trap door. It was wide open.
"No..." Arthur said slowly. He peered down into the cellar but all he could see were a couple of steps leading down. Besides that, everything was pitch black.
"Then how did it open?" Elizaveta whispered.
Alfred stepped back from the trap door, terrified. "Did anyone else go downstairs...?"
Gilbert shook his head and peered down into the cellar. "Should we go check it out?"
He looked at the others. Neither Elizaveta nor Alfred looked willing to go down there. Ivan seemed hesitant as well. Suddenly, Arthur walked over to the sofa where his backpack lay and he brought out a flashlight.
"I'll go. Better check to make sure there's nothing alive down there."
"I'll come with you! Don't worry, Liz, I'll protect you from any rats that might be hiding down there." Gilbert grinned at his girlfriend and kissed her cheek before heading down into the cellar with Arthur.
The steps creaked loudly as the two men descended into the dark cellar. Gilbert couldn't see much even with the help of Arthur's flashlight. He caught a glimpse of shelves and old chairs that looked too weak to hold anybody. The cellar was actually quite big. They continued walking around, looking to see if there was any animal scurrying around down there, but they couldn't hear anything, just the subtle sound of a leaky pipe somewhere drip, drip, dripping water.
Arthur shined his flashlight around the room, not spotting anything until the light glinted off something metal. He walked over to a table shoved in the corner of the cellar. The gleam that had caught his eye was a shotgun. "Where did this thing come from...?"
"Does your family like to hunt or anything?" Gilbert asked as he picked the gun up. He handled it with the right amount of expertise that showed he knew what he was doing.
"No. None of us have ever used a gun." Arthur frowned and looked around some more. The light landed on a strange book with a rather disturbing looking cover.
"Maybe there were some hunters that stayed here then," Gilbert mused as Arthur picked up the book. "There's something strange, though..." He muttered.
"What?" Arthur asked absently.
"This gun doesn't look like it's been used for a while; a good couple of years, at least."
"Hmm…" Arthur was distracted, quite interested in what looked to be an old book of ancient languages, and not exactly paying attention to Gilbert's concern about the gun.
Gilbert, in the meantime, suddenly felt nervous. Why? He wasn't exactly sure. He checked the gun barrel to see if it was loaded, and sure enough, two bullets were inside, ready to be fired.
I wonder if there are any more bullets lying around? He wondered to himself and figured that if there were more, they'd either be in a box or in a bag on one of these shelves. He decided to search for them for a minute. There was nothing much in the cellar, however. On the shelves were jars of some unknown substances that he hoped were just old, pickled vegetables. He went further past the table where Arthur still stood by, perusing the book.
"Hey, Arthur! Shine your flashlight over here!"
Arthur obliged, turning the flashlight on the table in Gilbert's direction. He still continued to look at the book.
With the help of the small beam of light, Gilbert came upon a remote corner of the cellar and found a trunk. Fortunately, it was unlocked. When he opened the trunk, it gave a massive creaking noise and Gilbert beheld several old pages of what looked to be grocery lists, as well as old news clippings. He shoved that aside, more interested in the hope that additional ammo was in the trunk. Finally, he came upon a small box and upon shaking it, heard metal clinking about inside. He had found bullets.
As he shut the trunk and stuck the box in his hoodie pocket, he felt that feeling of unease come over him again. He looked around warily. It just felt like he was being… watched. Suddenly, he heard something; something low and rumbling. It didn't sound like the house creaking or the pipes leaking. It sounded almost like an animal growling.
"A…Arthur…?" He called.
The growling continued.
"What?" Gilbert heard Arthur say.
"Did you hear something?"
"No."
The growling grew louder in his ear and he spun around to see nothing but shadows. He clutched the gun. There was something down here; something that seemed to be able to speak in a human voice… or something like a human voice.
Join us… Join us…
Gilbert slowly backed away and came back to the safe haven of the flashlight. Arthur finally looked up from the book.
"This is quite something. I'm gonna have to look at this more thoroughly. You should see – What's the matter?"
Gilbert stared at him. "Are you sure you didn't hear anything just now?" He asked.
Arthur shook his head. "No… What did you hear?"
Gilbert didn't answer. Instead, he just stared into the light and blinked. What was that? Was he hearing things? Had it just been an animal? Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. He and Liz had watched a scary movie the other night…
"Ah… It was nothing. I think there's an animal down here or something."
"Oh. Should we try to catch it?" Arthur asked.
The last thing Gilbert wanted to do was stay down in this dark cellar. "Nah. If we keep the door closed, I think we'll be okay. Besides, the others are probably worrying about us."
Arthur frowned, but nodded. "Well, all right, if you say so. We might as well bring this stuff upstairs. There doesn't seem to be anything else useful down here." He picked up the book and turned back to the stairs.
"Yeah, you're right." Gilbert shouldered the gun and followed Arthur, trying not to look behind him.
"Did you find anything?" Ivan asked them.
Alfred looked over at his brother and friend when they came back out of the cellar. "A gun and a weird book?"
"Yeah. Strange, huh?" Gilbert said. He decided not to mention the noises he heard.
"That book looks old," Ivan said, noticing the thing tucked under Arthur's arm.
"Yeah. I'm going to try to translate it! It's written in some strange language." Arthur smiled, excited at having something new to put his translating abilities to.
At the sound of the excitement in his friend's voice, Ivan couldn't help but shake his head amusedly. He looked over at Alfred.
"Oh boy. There he goes..."
Alfred laughed a little bit at that. His brother did like weird, old shit. "Well, I'm just glad it wasn't anything creepy..."
Even though that book looked rather creepy…