Feliciano went closer to his older brother who was leaning aganist the wall for support. He had never seen the other look so exhausted and it was certainly very heartbreaking to see him in such a terrible condition. Lovino was panting heavily and his face was extremely pale. His body, a once empty canvas, was now painted with cuts and bruises almost everywhere. The way he limped a few moments ago indicated that he had twisted his ankle, and he had probably
broken a few bones.
"V-ve... Fratello, are you okay?" Felicano asked worriedly when Lovino had started coughing out blood. "You look like a ghost!"
"Tch, I'm likely to become one anytime..." he muttered weakly in response and wiped away the blood on his chin with his sleeve. The blood seeped into his sleeve and it slowly turned from a soft brown to crimson red.
Feliciano remained silent, saddened by the fact that Lovino himself knew that he wouldn't last long in this dreadful place.
Feliciano had sustained minimal injuries unlike Lovino and Feliciano felt guilty beyond words. He knew that Lovino had been fending off most of the zombies and his injuries were inevitable because he was shielding him from most of their attacks.
He pondered over why people always commented that he was the stronger and more powerful one between him and Lovino. There were times when Lovino would hide behind him, mostly when Ludwig was present, but there were most definitely times when he would hide behind his older brother for protection as well. He wasn't sure about Lovino, but whenever he was hiding behind him, he felt a sense of security and knew that his older brother would definitely protect him.
In Feliciano's eyes, Lovino is and will always be the stronger and more powerful one.
No matter how badly he wanted to find Germany and how terrified he was, time and luck weren't on his side. However, he wanted to at least tell his brother that he had always looked up to him and that he was his role model. He wanted it to be his turn to protect him in this apocalypse, even though part of him knew that he was incapable of fending off all the attacks. He looked straight at his Lovino and their eyes met. "F-Fratello! I-"
Thump.
"Shit, was that...?"
Thump.
"Fratello! Listen-"
Thump.
"I'll listen to whatever you have to stay later! We've got to get out of this fucking place, damn it!"
The clomping of boots stopped. Both of them gulped and slowly turned their head to their right. A blond zombie stood there. Its clothes were ripped and it was covered in blood, from head to toe. Its skin was decaying and a putrid scent filled the air. It was a rather hideous sight for both brothers and a few seconds passed before they regained their senses.
"L-Ludwig?" Feliciano managed to stammer out, "Is that you?"
The zombie merely growled before charging at them. On instinct, the Vargas brothers began running at full speed. Both felt like their hearts were going to burst out of their chests at any moment. They were dead tired, but they needed to continue running.
"What the hell?! Why can that bastard run so quickly?! The other zombies could only stagger!"
"V-Ve, maybe it's because Ludwig's always training..."
"Damn, we won't be able to outrun him! This way!" Lovino yelled and slammed the door to a meeting room open, pulling his brother in. "Let's take cover here for now. Find somewhere to hide!"
"Fratello, there's no place to hide!" Feliciano exclaimed with a mix of urgency and panic in his voice. "There are only desks and chairs here, so it can still easily find us!"
"Shit, we're doomed..." Lovino muttered, "First it was that eyebrow bastard, then one by one everyone turned into zombies, Antonio too...! And now that potato bastard?"
Feliciano glanced at his brother. He could tell that he was exhausted, both mentally and physically. He knew that it was his turn to protect him now. "F-Fratello! Listen, it's my turn to protect you, okay? So don't strain yourself anymore!" he declared, just as the zombie lurched into the room towards them. At that moment, Feliciano thought that he was so lucky to have had so many good friends around him, and of course, a reliable elder brother. He knew that he had at least lived a good life, and it wasn't so meaningless as it had seemed to be.
"You idiot! What do you mean-"
Lovino's words were cut short by the screams of his younger brother. All he could do was stare, dropping to the ground helplessly as blood squirted out from his brother's neck like a fountain. The zombie had bitten him, and Feliciano had sacrificed himself to protect him.
The next thing he knew, his tears flew out uncontrollably and he was screaming and yelling at his brother whose body laid limp on the floor. "Why the fuck did you do that?! Why did you...?!"
"F-Fratello... I... You... Were a great brother..." Feliciano mumbled with deadpanned eyes and took his last breath.
He was gone. His younger brother was gone. No longer in his life, no longer by his side.
He watched absentmindedly as his brother's body began to shake. He knew that of course, his brother would transform. Not only that, but the other zombie was still around. His brother - no, it - stood up and he watched as something that was once his cute and innocent younger brother approach him. Lovino knew that this time, his luck was used up and he had nowhere else to run. He wiped away his tears and closed his eyes, feeling the two figures lurch at him.
"Yeah, you were great too," Lovino mumbled as his world darkened.
