Hetalia of the Dead
Chapter Three
"Bollocks, this is absolute bollocks. Alfred, we're going to die for sure."
Growling, Alfred looked at his friend and pointed the splintered table leg at him, "You got any other ideas because I'd love to hear them!"
Arthur puffed out his cheeks in annoyance but quickly deflated, "Of course not, if I had I would have mentioned it by now. I just don't think these 'weapons' are going to keep us safe."
Alfred hated to admit it but he knew the British boy was right. Unable to find anything useful, they had tipped Arthurs large table over and had torn off the legs. One had broken into tiny bits and the other had split in half so they only had two wooden stumps to fight with. Aiding Alfred was a pair of shiny metal scissors. He glanced down at his two weapons sadly but then put on a brave face when he looked back up into Arthur's green eyes.
"It's the best we've got" he said, determined. "If you had followed my advice months ago and put a baseball bat in here in case someone got rowdy, then we could have had something useful"
Arthur glared, "So we're going to die all because I didn't put a stupid sports prop in my office? Thanks a lot, Jones."
Alfred groaned, "That's not what I meant, not what I meant at all! Stop twisting my words."
Arthur groaned and then cursed because he had no chair to sit on, (they had tried to take the legs of that too but the legs were too thin and weak so in a fit of rage, the American had thrown it at the wall where it remained useless). "I'm not twisting your words" the Brit sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Shit, just ignore what I say. I'm shit scared and I'm taking it out on you"
Alfred calmed down slightly and moved to place a hand on the others shoulder but at the last second decided against it. "No, it's alright. If I'm honest, I'm terrified too. You'd be crazy not to be scared at a time like this."
Arthur let out a half bothered chuckle, "You always tell me that I'm crazy."
"Dude, the amount of times I've came in here and seen you talking to nothing, I can't even count them with all of my fingers and toes."
"Fairies are real," Arthur snapped. "You must believe me now because look at what is outside," he stretched his arm out and indicated to the door leading outside where the zombie still sat eating. He then lowered his arm to his side and looked sadly at the floor. "I wondered why they didn't show up today. They must have foreseen this."
Alfred rolled his eyes but didn't continue the conversation. Instead, he took the door key out of his pocket and moved towards the door. He stopped when a hand clamped around his left forearm. He turned around and came face to face with a terrified Englishman. "Arthur . . ?"
"I want you to promise me that if I die, you'll continue on to search for Peter" Arthur said softly, "I know you have no obligation to but if you could . . ."
Willing himself not to cry, Alfred wheeled around and wrapped his arms around the other boys thin frame. "I will," he muttered into his ear, "but you're not going to die because the hero is here to protect you, like the day we first met."
"Don't bring that up" Arthur chuckled, relaxing into the embrace and resting his chin on the American's shoulder. "Let's just keep our minds on the task at hand."
"Sure" Alfred smiled, pulling away from the other. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," Arthur nodded. "Where are we going to look first? Around this school or straight across the road for Peter?"
"A tough question" Alfred admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Matthew is more likey to still be alive than Peter but if Peter is still breathing, we have to get to him first . . . gah, but I can't leave Matthew either!"
Arthur bowed his head in thought. "There may be a way to see if Matthew is still alive."
Alfred didn't say a word, waiting for the other to speak. When he didn't, the younger of the two grabbed the other by his shoulders and shook hard. "C'mon, spit it out. We don't have time for any heavy thinking."
"Now is the perfect time for some heavy thinking!" Arthur snapped, harshly brushing Alfred's hands from off of him. "My idea might not even work so I'm trying to work out if the risk is worth it."
"Tell me your plan and we can both decided if it's worth it" Alfred prompted.
"The plan is" Arthur began, looking up into concerned blue eyes, "that we make our way to the Principles office and hi-jack the cameras. That way, we may be able to search the school and see if there are any survivors. The downside is that they don't work in toilets, changing rooms or rooms that students don't use like broom cupboards and the staff room. If Matthew is in any one of those rooms alive, we won't be able to see him."
Alfred thought about the idea for a split second, "The chances that my brother is in any of those rooms are slim. Although the Principles office is on the other side of the school, I say it's worth the high risk. There's bound to be other survivors too, right?"
"We can't be the only ones" Arthur agreed. "As soon as we check the cameras, I'm going to look for Peter, with or without your help. I'm sorry; my brother is all that concerns me now."
"I understand" Alfred smiled. "Don't worry, we'll get to him. Listen, I know that we should be thinking about the now but what do we do when we get outside? I mean, the place will be crawling with zombies."
"We get to the border of the next town" Arthur said, "And if that town is infected too then we carry on to the next. We could look for our families but to be honest, I'm not hopeful"
"My mom is already dead and my dad . . . let's just say I'm in no hurry to find him" Alfred admitted.
Arthur sighed, "I would like to find my family but Peter is my first priority"
Alfred smiled and turned towards the door, key at the ready. Before he put it into the lock, he looked through the keyhole first where the same zombie still sat, almost done with the corpse he was eating. Alfred straightened back up, put the key into the lock and glanced over his shoulder at Arthur who was only two small steps behind him. "As soon as I open this door we run for the Principles office. If one of them gets close, hit them over the head. If you need help you just call for me but other than that, we have to be as quiet as possible, you got it?"
"Sure" Arthur shrugged, "Also, just because you know a lot about zombies doesn't make you the boss, let's just clear that up"
Alfred chuckled, "Nice to see that your personality hasn't changed much due to all this"
Arthur growled, "Just open the fucking door already!"
"Sheesh, don't get your eyebrows all in a twist!" Alfred laughed. His smile then turned serious as he turned to the door and slowly, carefully, began to turn the key. Holding their breaths and clutching their 'weapons' harder, they waited for the faint click to signal that the door was unlocked. When it did click, they both jumped about a foot into the air.
"Sshh, it's alright" Alfred whispered, more to himself than to his companion. "It was just the door, nothing to be afraid of"
"Did that zombie notice?" Arthur hissed.
Shrugging, Alfred took the key out and took another peep. "Nope" he answered, "But it doesn't matter, he's gunna notice us the moment I open this door. Before I do, just remember what I said"
"Yeah, run as fast and as quietly as I can and don't be afraid to call for help when needed. You don't need to remind me" Arthur muttered.
"You can open the damn door yourself if you're just going to moan at me" Alfred groaned, wrapping one hand around the door knob. "I'm just making sure that we both survive this."
Arthur sighed, "Sorry. Can we go?"
After rolling his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time, Alfred cracked the door open, extremely thankful that the hinges didn't protest and squeak. Inch by slow inch he opened the door, glancing down the hallway that was right ahead (the direction the zombie still sat, unknowing of his new company) and to his right, a corridor that lead to their destination. So far, all seemed clear aside from the one exception.
"If we tip toe that zombie shouldn't notice us" Alfred whispered as he opened the door further and stepped out, his converse instantly splashed with gore from the floor. "Follow me"
Then without anymore said, the plucky American silently sprinted to his right, down the deserted corridor and towards the end. Before he turned down the corner, he pressed himself against the wall and quickly peeked around it. He pulled his head back, turned and gave Arthur the thumbs up, telling him it was clear.
Shaking, Arthur loosened his school tie before he decided to move. With clumsy feet, he slowly continued down the corridor, turning his head between the zombie and his friend. Almost halfway down the corridor and not looking where his feet were treading, he stepped on a large pile of blood and slipped, the table leg flying out of his grasp. He let out a terrified yelp and fell on his hip; a large echo of a crunch could be heard. Biting his lip and drawing a thin line of blood, the Brit tentatively got to his feet, a limp in his steps. He spotted his weapon and went to bend down to get it when a noise made him jerk his head up. The zombie was on his feet and was stumbling towards him, arms outstretched and mouth wide open.
Eyes wide, Arthur quickly grabbed his table leg and held it out in front of him like a sword. "S-stay back, I warn you" he shouted at it.
"Arthur!" Alfred hissed behind him. "For fucks sake just run!"
Backing up, Arthur kept his eyes locked with the zombies' blank ones. His arms were shaking pretty badly so he was unable to keep his weapon straight, the wooden leg still pointed at the zombie. "I'll use this if I have to!"
"Shit" Alfred groaned, "There's another one coming down this hallway. Arthur, we have to go, now"
But his calls were falling onto deaf ears. The British born boy was still facing the oncoming monster, scared to turn his back on him. With a shuddering grumble, Arthur tried to take a swipe at the zombie with his table leg but his weak grasp let go of the weapon in mid swing so that the wooden stump was thrown towards the enemy. Unfortunately, it did not hit the monster, instead going over his head and sliding to a halt in front of Arthur's old office.
Eyes wide and using a trembling hand to cover his mouth, pushing back his scream, all Arthur could do was watch as the zombie slowly approached him . . .
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"But Luddy, white flag means surrender not fight, ve"
The tall blond German sighed and turned to his partner. He was sat in the arts and crafts room with his friend Feliciano Vargas who had been painting a lovely picture before the outbreak of the walking dead. When Ludwig or 'Luddy' had announced to the young Italian about the zombies, the brown haired boy had set to work on something. Proud, Ludwig had watched the boy, wondering what weapon he would make only to be shocked and horrified that the item made was a large white flag attached to a long piece of heavy wood. Angry, the German had begun to sharpen down the edges into points since the Italian refused to part with his handmade flag.
"Zombies don't care if you're friend or foe" Ludwig growled as he blew off the fibres of one sharpened edge of the wood and spinning it around so he could do the same to the other. "They will eat anything alive and this flag will do nothing other than announce to them our whereabouts. It'll be like waving a red flag at a bull."
"Antonio told me once that it's not the colour of the flag that angers the bull, just the movement. It's red because-"
"Feli, now is not the time for your useless knowledge of things to shine through" Ludwig groaned. "Make yourself useful and check the doors are locked again"
"O-ok. You don't think those things can open them do you?" Feliciano whimpered as he slowly walked over to the door and peeled back a paper they had taped over the window in the door. After a second he said, "No one there" and after checking the door was indeed locked, he went back over to the German, sat and watched him, waiting for an answer.
Ludwig sighed and looked at his friend (only just recently turned boyfriend). "I don't think they can open doors since they no longer have human minds. If they're anything like in the movies, all they know is food"
"Maybe I could make them some pasta" Feliciano grinned.
"No, not pasta" Ludwig said, a small smile on his lips at Feli's innocence. "They don't want anything cooked or baked for them. They want to eat people, ones that are still alive"
"Ve, but that sounds yucky" the Italian frowned, holding his stomach as a wave of nausea hit him. "I wish I had some pasta with me now, I'm hungry"
"You'll just have to remain hungry" Ludwig growled as he continued to sharpen the flag end with the fire emergency axe he had found. "Food should not be first on your priority list"
"But, we'll die without food" Feli moaned.
"We'll die if those things get to us too" the German retaliated. "All that we should be thinking about is them and how we're going to get away. There we go, that should do it" with a smirk, he passed the now semi lethal flag back to his partner and watched as the teenager inspected it.
"I don't like fighting" he whimpered as he touched one of the spiky points with his finger. "I know, I'll stand back and cheer you on!"
"Not acceptable" Ludwig snapped making Feliciano jump where he sat, "At a time like this you need to man up! Get in touch with the beast inside of you"
"I don't have a beast inside of me" Feli cried, "Inside I'm just a cute little kitten who likes to play with string and eat lots of pasta!"
As the Italian cried, Ludwig rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Sure, he loved Feliciano but sometimes, the boy just got on his nerves. With a grunt, he picked up his axe and got to his feet, shutting up his sobbing companion.
"L-Luddy, what are you doing?" Feliciano asked as the blond haired teenager went over to the door. "It's already locked. I checked it two minutes ago"
"We need to leave" Ludwig announced, lifting the paper over the window and looking out. "We can't stay here for long. Those monsters will eventually sniff us out and will start hammering at our door. And as you pointed out, we cannot survive without food or water"
"I can't leave without Lovino!" Feliciano said, "My brother is in danger"
"And so are we" Ludwig replied, eyes quickly scanning the corridor outside. "But don't worry, we'll look for him . . . Gilbert too"
"Where could they be?" Feliciano muttered sadly, eyes to the floor.
Ludwig looked back at him and sighed, "I don't know where Lovino may be but Gilbert probably isn't in the school as he always bunks off on afternoons. Now, where could your brother be?"
"I . . . I don't know" Feliciano stuttered as he stood at Ludwig's side, spiked flag leaning on one of his shoulders so that the white sheet tied to it draped down his back. "He could be anywhere"
"Anything more specific?" Ludwig urged, "A classroom maybe?"
"Ve, I guess so but I don't know which and we can't stay and search every single room!"
"Damn, you're right" Ludwig growled, scratching the back of his neck in frustration. "And if it has to come to that?"
Feli gulped and stared at the wall, "Then I don't know. I'm a coward so I naturally want to run away but my family is important and I can't leave my brother out there alone. I'm just so worried about him."
"Lovino is tough" Ludwig smiled, clamping a large hand on the Italian's shoulder. "Even a zombie would be afraid of his temper"
Feliciano looked up with less fear in his eyes, "You're right. My big brother is tough and strong, just like Luddy"
A pink blush appeared on the German's cheeks and he looked away to hide it, hoping that Feli hadn't seen it. "R-right, sure" he stuttered. "Have you got the key for this door?"
"Si!" Feliciano grinned, pulling the bronze key out of his blazer pocket. "Do you want me to open it?"
"Unlock yes but open, leave that to me" Ludwig informed, gripping the axe tighter in his hand. "Leave all the fighting to me and when I tell you to run, you run"
"Yes sir" Feliciano agreed, mock saluting the other using his left hand. The German smiled as he watched his boyfriend put the key into the lock and quickly turn it. Once the lock was undone, Ludwig placed his hand on the Italians shoulder and pushed him behind him.
"Do not leave my side" he warned. "Got that?"
Feli nodded and before the door was opened he stood in front of the taller boy and stood on his tip toes, head held high. Blushing again because he knew what his boyfriend wanted; Ludwig dropped his head so that their faces were level.
"Ti amo" Feliciano whispered, pressing his lips against the others. "And I always will"
"Und Ich liebe dich" the German whispered back.
With another touch of their lips, Ludwig straightened up and wrapped his fingers around the door knob, taking in a deep breath before he opened it. When he did he was met with silence and an empty corridor. "We should try the cook room first" Ludwig whispered as he took a couple of steps forward. "If your brother is anything like you, he would have went straight for the room with food"
"Hopefully" Feli smiled, staying behind his tall and muscly boyfriend, "I hope he's made pasta when we get there." Although he didn't say it out loud it was his rumbling stomach that announced that the Italian was more than a little hungry.
"Mind off food and on getting to the cook room first" Ludwig whispered. "If you see any of those things, tell me."
"Yes captain" Feliciano nodded, saluting again.
Axe poised to attack, the blond teenager led the way down the long and lonely corridor. So far, nothing popped out of anywhere or made a noise. But they couldn't let their guard down as the monsters could be lurking everywhere. But so far, it seemed that the zombies hadn't gotten this far into the school yet. Feli let out a little scared whimper once they got to the end of the corridor and carefully nudged the door open. Holding out a hand in a stop motion to the Italian, Ludwig went through and quickly looked around, it was a small room with nothing but student lockers in it.
"Nothing here either" he sighed, a small smile on his face. "So far, so good."
"L-Luddy, I hear noises" the smaller boy whimpered, grabbing hold of the blonds' shirt and placing his face in between his shoulder blades.
On red alert, the German backed Feli into a corner and held his axe up high, determined to protect his lover at all costs. "Are you sure you heard something?" he asked after a few moments of nothing.
"Uh-huh" Feliciano stuttered, eyes raking across the bare room. "I heard footsteps on the other side of that door."
Ludwig watched as the Italian pointed to the other door leading out of the small corridor they were in. The German grit his teeth and with a hand only, told the other to stay put. Feliciano nodded and watched the blond walk cautiously over to the other door. With steady hands he held his axe high with one and placed his other hand against the door. Mentally counting down, he got to one and quickly pushed the door open, letting out a feral growl as he did so. When he entered the other corridor, he was met with a long thin sword, pointing straight at his face. Gasping, he took a step back and observed what was in front of him.
A thin boy with short black hair was stood in front of him, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a maroon shirt, still pointing the sword at him. After staring at each other, the Asian boy lowered his weapon and bowed.
"My apologies" he said clearly, "I thought you were one of those creatures"
Although Ludwig did not recognise the newcomer, his Italian love obviously did. The brown haired boy ran past Ludwig and wrapped his arms around the other. The new boy stuttered then gently pushed the Italian away.
"Kiku!" Feliciano grinned, "I'm happy that you're safe!"
"You know this boy, Feli?" Ludwig asked, still cautious of the Japanese boy.
"Yeah" Feliciano answered, "He used to be in our year but was moved up a year because he's so smart! Kiku, this is Ludwig!"
"Nice to meet you" Kiku said, bowing again. "Once again, forgive me for my actions"
"No problems" Ludwig said, "Why have you got a sword?"
"Katana" Kiku corrected. "It belonged to my father and was passed down to me. I didn't turn up to school today because I was ill but my older brother told me to come here and get my little sister. I grabbed the sword, happy to have it come to some use"
"Now he have two strong people to help get to my brother" Feli grinned.
"So your katana, can it do some lethal damage?" Ludwig asked.
"Of course" Kiku replied, staring at the blond with his deep brown eyes. "It can take a man's head clean off his shoulders in one swipe. I should know, I've had to do it plenty of times to get here"
It was at that moment that the German noticed that the blade was covered in bright red blood. He internally grimaced and grinned at the same time.
"Welcome to the team" he said, "We'll help you get to your sister if you help us find his brother"
He nodded to the Italian who was stood watching them, a goofy smile on his face and a song in his throat.
"That seems reasonable" Kiku agreed, bowing again. "It will be best not to go the way I came from. The corridors are full of those creatures"
"The cook room is that way" Ludwig frowned, "We need to get there"
Kiku eyed the axe in Ludwig's grasp and then at the pointed flag with Feliciano. Nodding he said, "It seems we are armed well enough. Come, I shall lead the way"
"Thank you" Ludwig said, "Feli, stay close to me"
"Got it" Feliciano smiled, following the other two down the corridor, humming a jolly tune.
And the Axis Powers are together. Two more groups of survivors to meet and then the story will get to its plot XD
Ti amo – Italian for I love you. Si – Italian (and Spanish) for Yes.
Und Ich liebe dich – German for And I love you.
Translations may be wrong so please don't have a go at me for it :)
Review maybe?
