This is the first fanfic that I've actually uploaded because I'm really self-conscious about this kind of stuff. Hope you all enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: Hetalia does not belong to me and I have no intention of making profit off of it. The characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.
XxX
Chapter I: The Light in the Cabin
I ran.
Helicopters droned overhead, spotlights searched the desolate ground for signs of life, and I ran. I had been running for a while now, ever since the virus hit.
How long ago was that now? Seven, eight years maybe? I had lost count, it had all happened so fast.
XxX
The Mens virus hit so suddenly, that within the first 2 weeks, over a billion people had perished across the globe. It was a disease of the mind, infecting the brain so fast that it would kill an average human in a day of them contracting the virus. It was too difficult to treat. No one knew where it originated, or how to diagnose it. It was untreatable.
After the first wave hit, the countries of the world sent their best biochemists and neurologists to form Victus, an organization dedicated to creating a vaccine for the Mens virus. My father, Otho Beilschmidt, was sent from Germany with the awesome me and my younger brother, Ludwig, to live at the base of Victus while he worked. Refugees flooded into underground shelters, all of them tested for anomalies in their brain. If they had the slightest trace of the virus, they were killed immediately on the spot.
The only people who seemed to have no trace of Mens were the Lumens, A rare handful of people who were blessed with light hair and pale eyes that seemed to give off a radiant light and gave them their name. I was one of them. Once the scientists discovered this new piece of information, they immediately began capturing the Lumens and testing them, my own father even turned against me. During their research, they found that if the Lumens were under intense danger or angered, an Imitation, or power of the mind would be activated and they would lash out. After months of unimaginable pain from the tests that left scars littered across my skin, some of us managed to escape. Once away from Victus, we did the only thing we could do, we ran.
XxX
Now, here I was, running once again. Ash flew up behind me as I sprinted across the barren landscape and hurdled across piles of rubble created by the latest nuclear bomb dropped in hopes of dispersing the Mens virus and the escaped Lumens from the surface .A wicked grin plastered on my face and my bright eyes wild, I sprinted through the old town and into the ruins of an old building. Hoping that the small section of roof that was left would be enough to give me cover.
Panting heavily, I glanced up at the dark sky for any signs of my pursuers as I regained my breath. Man, were those guys persistent. But they would never catch the awesome Gilbert Beilshmidt!
"Nice try, abschaum!" I shouted at the retreating helicopters.
When I was sure they were gone for good, I climbed out from the rubble, muttering curses, and walked into the street, scanning the area or any means with which to assuage the growing hunger that had been nagging me all day. Shaking off ash and rubble that was coating my beat up jacket and white hair, I glanced around and spotted a small forest in the distance. Feeling a sense of relief, I started walking toward what was left of the once thriving forest, hoping it may still house a few surviving animals.
Reaching the forest, I began looking for places where I could set up traps. After my escape, I was forced to live off the rudimentary skills that my traitor father had taught me and Ludwig before Mens hit. Now, I easily began building traps and started to make a fire. Then, I created a bow and arrow with my Imitation and set out to get some much needed food.
As I hunted, my mind wandered back to my brother and father. I still have bitter feelings for Otho, hell, I would kill him if I ever saw him again, but it was my little bruder that I thought of the most. He was only a few years younger than me, but he had always been more mature. While I was always quick to act and had a more unruly nature, he was always calm and composed. I had always been fiercely protective of him, fighting off school bullies and consoling him after our mother died. I blamed myself for his death. If only he had been born a Lumen and not me, he wouldn't have died like all the rest.
My train of thought was brought to an abrupt halt when I spotted a faint light in my peripheral vision, my enhanced eyesight making it easier to see things at long range. I turned my head sharply and narrowed my bright red eyes.
"Was zum Teufel?" I muttered, darting behind trees as I slowly closed in on the source of the light. A small cabin came into view. The faint light of a lantern flickering through the windows and a stream of smoke slowly drifting out of the flue. The wood was seriously rotted, and there were strips of new wood covering the multiple holes in the walls. I would have thought it was abandoned, but the light inside proved otherwise, and I wasn't going to pass up the chance of finding another Lumen.
I approached the cabin cautiously, afraid of how dangerous the person inside would be. My time spent with the other Lumens in captivity hadn't been the best experience, and most of them had gone insane from the brutal tests, lashing out with their Imitations and seriously injuring anyone within range. I notched an arrow and took a defensive stance, ready to use my Imitation if need be. I took a deep breath to muster my courage, and kicked down the door.
"Hände hoch!" I shouted. My arrow following my eyes, I surveyed the house, doing a quick 360° of the small one-room cabin for any danger. There was a small kitchen with a wood-burning stove and a small table. There was a messy twin bed in the corner next to the brightly lit fireplace. As I turned back to the door I spotted a dark smear on the wall and walked over to it. I reeled back in shock when I realized that it was a bloody handprint, and looking around the room I spotted more of them accompanied by drops of blood on the floor.
"Oh Gott…" I whispered, putting my hand on the table for support, flinching when I felt it land in a pool of the thick liquid. "Es ist frisch...Hello?" I had heard shuffling behind me, and quickly turned around to see what it was, and to maybe help whoever was hurt enough to lose all this blood.
When I spun back around towards the fireplace, immediately freezing as I came face-to-face with a knife floating in midair, its' point right between my eyes. I quickly backtracked, but stopped short when I felt another blade pressing against my back. I was trapped.
"Scheiße" I croaked. My bow and arrow immediately evaporating with a red flash.
"PAS UN AUTRE MOUVEMENT!" A fierce voice shouted.
Looking around in confusion to where the voice came from, I was even more startled when a panel of the wall next to the fireplace swung open forcefully and banged against the wall. A small figure stepped out of the blackness of the wall and into the light.
XxX
Abschaum- Scum
Was zum Teufel- What the hell
Hände hoch- Hands up
Oh Gott- Oh god
Es ist Frisch- It's fresh
Scheiße- Shit
Pas un autre mouvement- Not another move