Warnings: Blood/Gore.
The group was silent as the sun came up from over the mountains. Staring out over the roof they could still see a few straggling infected staggering amongst the charred remains of the camp, but most had moved on during the night, hell bent on finding more survivors to mutilate in their constant march for food.
Stuck up on the roof the group was numb, the frigid air dulling even the harshest of emotions. All night, they had been too cold to attempt to make conversation with the other survivors. The only noise the small circle of survivors created came from Elizabeta, curled despondently into Gilbert's chest. Though she was attempting to cry silently over the loss of her companions her shuddering sobs were still audible from Gilbert's ice coated shoulder.
Watching the two from across the circle Iain felt a pang of jealousy, but decided not to make anything of it: Elizabeta was probably better off with someone who knew how to comfort someone for now anyway. Still, he didn't like how Gilbert carefully stroked her hair, and liked it even less when he wrapped a defensive arm around her when he noted Iain's glare, as if to challenge Iain. Their silent challenge was destined to remain silent though as both knew it would be a horrible idea to start anything at the moment, considering just about everyone's nerves were shot.
Turning away in disgust Iain shuddered and shoved his hands deeper into his coat pockets not minding for once that Arthur had curled up next to him in a vain attempt to sleep. Shivering slightly, Iain felt the heat seeping from the wounds in his chest leaving him near hypothermia and seeking heat from anywhere around him.
Attempting to find anything to take his mind off the dull roar in his chest, he found himself looking around the group. Instantly he could see that they were all just as cold as he was. Even Ludwig, who had the thickest coat, was shuddering violently.
He was beginning to think that perhaps they would all be dying there, frozen to the roof when suddenly Alfred stood. Instantly all eyes shot to him, their sleep deprived eyes startled.
"It's morning. We need to get out of here before anymore infected figure out we're up here." He announced, rubbing the tip of his nose to warm it. Still startled the group stared up at him in confusion, their ice-covered brains not comprehending his words at first. It was Ludwig who finally broke the silence.
"How do you propose we get out of here?" He demanded harshly. "The entire bottom floors are probably overrun…I don't want to risk taking the stairs."
"We'll find a way, we always do." Gilbert croaked from beside his brother, stiffly attempting to stand. "We lost a lot of people, but I think we can still get out of here." Alfred nodded in agreement,
"You're right though Ludwig, I don't think anyone wants to risk going back down the stairs." Alfred muttered, "There should be a fire escape somewhere around here... we just have to find it and then we can get down." Feliciano smiled hopefully from over his scarf.
"Then we're home free, right?" He demanded moving to his feet as Ludwig did.
"I hope so Feli...I really hope so." Alfred smiled at the Italian, loving the boy's hopeful attitude.
"We'll be safe, right Ludwig?" Feliciano questioned the German, wrapping himself around his arm in an attempt to find warmth. Ludwig winced at the question.
"I'll protect you Feli." He promised, Feliciano grinned and squeezed his arm.
"Okay, enough with the sap-fest, let's get going." Iain sighed, wincing as he stood up, waving off the offered hand that Alfred sent his way.
"I see a ladder over there," Arthur pointed out, his eyes as sharp as ever. "It's possible that could be the fire-escape." Alfred ran over to the edge where he was pointing,
"Looks good to me, but I'm not sure it can hold all of our weight. It looks kinda old." He muttered, "Ludwig, you're a big hunk of man, come try it out." Alfred suggested, Ludwig twitched,
"Nein, its your idea trottel." He muttered, "You do it." Alfred sighed,
"If I knew what you just called me I'd totally smack you...but fine I'll go." Alfred gulped as he leaned over the edge and began to slink one leg over at a time, the five foot drop to where the platform started seemed like it was a twenty foot plummet. He was about to slide down when frozen hands grabbed his arms followed closely by a second pair. Looking up he found that Arthur and Mathew had taken hold of his arms.
"We'll lower you down." Arthur said to him, Alfred nodded his thanks at the two as they slowly helped him get down onto the platform. They released him reluctantly, and winced as there was a creak and a violent shudder from the escape, but to their surprise it held firm.
"Okay guys, it's all good. Go one at a time, and keep an eye on the windows; we don't know if the infected got in the rooms." Alfred ordered as he began the descent down the stairs that led to the crimson stained ground below.
He took one step at a time as he drifted down the steps, he heard Arthur come up behind him, but was too busy watching out for rusted metal to notice who followed after him.
The travel that should have taken maybe two minutes was now running into a half hour their movements were so slow. Alfred could clearly see the ground now, the pure white world of snow reflecting the sun up at them.
After what felt like eternity, at last his foot found the ground. The snow crunched under his shoes as he turned to face the group with a triumphant smile.
"Where to now?" Arthur demanded, his face red from the wind slapping against his face.
"We'll try and find some way to escape in a vehicle, that way we don't have to go on foot." Alfred said quietly, "And maybe some guns."
"I think the awesome me can be of some assistance." Gilbert smirked as he stepped up next to Alfred. "There's an armory on the way to the doctor's. A hall of guns and weapons the soldiers were using. I'm sure we could take which ever ones we want now that the soldiers are gone. Also, there are Hummers everywhere, if we find one that's unlocked we can bust out of here in style." Alfred smiled at the albino wanting to hug the man desperately.
"You truly are awesome, Gil." He laughed noting the instant smile that formed on Gilbert's face. "Now lead the way to that hall." Gilbert gave a gruff nod and began to walk towards where he saw the guns, a plank of wood bouncing off the palm of his hand.
The infected that were left in the camp were slow and deformed, their movements hindered by the thick snow. The group was easily able to dispatch them. He was positive they would make the distance to the armory without a hitch when he heard a sharp cry from Feliciano behind him.
Swirling as Gilbert slammed past him Alfred quickly spotted the problem: three of the infected, buried deep in the snow overnight had snagged onto Ludwig from under the drifts. The large German was on the ground, slamming at the infected as Mathew, Gilbert, and Elizabeta beat at the creatures with their mismatched weapons.
"Löse dich von ihm! Let go of him!" Gilbert was screaming, stomping on one of the creature's faces with his boot until they were nothing more than a pile of mush. Eventually the group managed to pull Ludwig away, falling in a heap next to a burnt tent.
"Where the holle did that come from?" Ludwig gasped as he lay sprawled out on the snow safe for the moment.
"Did they bite you?" Gilbert demanded shoving Arthur out of the way and examining his brother with a terrified look in his eyes. "They didn't bite you did they? I don't see anything…are you ok?" Ludwig nodded dumbly, allowing his brother to help him to his feet leaning against his brother for a moment before he righted himself.
"I'm fine…I'm fine bruder." He insisted, brushing off his anxious brother. "We need to move on bruder. You know the way out." Gilbert seemed reluctant, but his brother shook his head and waved him on. Grimacing Gilbert nodded:
"This way." He motioned, moving to the front of the group. "And keep your eyes on the damn ground, their just as dangerous down there as they are standing." He growled.
~X~
They reached the armory without any further incidents, but found that the armory was more populated with the infected than any other area. Feliciano was quick to suggest they dodge around them.
"If we don't kill them now, they're that much likely to sneak up behind us." Alfred snapped making the Italian flinch noticeably. "We take them head on, they're slow from the cold so we have a good shot at doing this without injuries." The group gave a few nods of agreement, not wanting to mention that the cold was hindering their movements just as heavily. "Alright, on my signal we charge." He ordered. "Three..two…one…go go go!"
Alfred led the charge with a roar, Iain close behind him golf club raised and ready to clobber a few heads, with a quick exhale of air he pressed forward thrashing down with the deadly metal to crack open the head of the unlucky zombie in front of him.
Alfred held up the sword Kiku gifted onto him and brought it across as if it were a bat along the head of his new enemy, bone and skin both tearing apart without resistance. Swirling Alfred smirked as the blood splattered across his face and drove forward thanking Kiku for his gift the entire way.
The hall was nearly thirty feet away as the group pushed forward, Francis let out an exasperated sigh as he came closer his face splattered with gore. Just behind him Matthew was still in a brawl with a few infected, he swung a stick back and forth attempting to decapitate them, but it just wasn't sharp enough. The Canadian noticed this quickly enough and decided a new idea of attack. Pulling his hands above his head he drove it downward, shattering the skull of the infected he swung out with his leg and planted his foot promptly into the neck of the man now lying on the ground. He heard a crack that alerted him that he had most likely crushed the creature's windpipe.
Kicking upwards again he struck an infected woman in the nose, smiling to himself a bit he decided maybe Francis had been right about him taking ice-skating lessons along with his hockey. They both left him in top notch shape and he was probably now the most flexible person there.
He spun around again and landed a kick into one of the infected's nose, flattening it to the side before coming up and slicing his stick across the infected's face like a blade.
"N'essayez même pas. Don't even try." He smiled as the infected fell at his feet. Satisfied, Matthew turned once again and rushed towards the building.
"Hurry! Hurry!" Alfred was calling from the armory door, he held it open as wide as he could and motioned for everyone to book it inside. "Get in!" He yelled at the straggling Iain, who shot him a livid look, but obliged and fell into the building with a huff.
With the door shut, locked, and sufficiently barricaded the group collapsed.
"We made it!" Francis whispered,
"Everyone made it!" Elizabeta laughed wiping blood from her face and hands onto her sleeve. Iain nodded breathlessly attempting not to wheeze though his chest was now officially screeching in pain. He didn't sit down as the others did, afraid that if he did he would let on that he was in pain. He didn't need Arthur to worry.
"Find a gun, catch your breath, we still need to find a getaway car." Alfred ordered. Reluctantly the group moaned but stood, "Find a gun, but make sure you know how to shoot it, and you have enough ammo."
"Does anyone see a Tommy-gun?" Feliciano asked, Ludwig shot him a questioning look, "I know how to use that one-"
"Ja, I know, but this is a military base. I doubt they have guns like that." Feliciano shrugged and went to find a different machine gun to suit his fancy. The others picked guns of their choice and found a decent holster or strap to use.
"Remember, the guns are your last resort." Alfred announced, "I think they're attracted to sound so use your other weapons as much as you can and remember to grab backup ammo." Nodding, the group continued to scavenge around the shop to find a weapon that would work for them.
~X~
They took an hour to rest and prepare and soon everyone was ready to take the outside once again Alfred began to open the door, "Let's find a humvee or something and get out of here." He smiled and kicked the door the rest of the way open. They all rushed forward with their new weapons ready to kill.
Alfred led the pack once again swinging his blade ready to maim. His new baseball bat strapped safely to his back and double pistols in a holster at his waist. He rushed through a small group of infected his eyes scanning everywhere to find the car that could fit the survivors. Finally his eyes locked in on a Humvee that would serve their purpose.
"That way!" He called, "Get to the car!" the group all turned to see where he was pointing and went into a full sprint after him. Alfred wrenched open the driver's seat only to be pushed back by Gilbert,
"I actually know how to drive this thing buddy." He smiled and slid into the car; not hindered, Alfred dove over the albinos lap to get in and slid into the passenger's seat. Coming around the other side, Arthur went to share the seat with Alfred as the others clambered into the back. Several people sat on the floor while others scrunched together on the seats.
"Go man! Go!" Alfred called and Gilbert thrust his foot down on the gas and they were out of there.
~X~
They hit the road and were on their way away from the deserted camp. Everyone sat in silence leaning against the person they were most comfortable with.
"Okay," Iain sighed, wincing as he Feliciano accidentally brushed against his injuries. "I don't know about you guys but I could really go for a nap." He muttered, "And a beer, but that might be asking too much" he added.
"Amen to that bruder." Gilbert nodded without taking his eyes off of the road. "Well let's figure something out here." He said, "I know that no one is going to agree with me, but I think we need to find a leader to this posse." He admitted,
"A leader?" Ludwig demanded, "We just got out of that Hell hole and now we have to decide out of total strangers who is going to lead us?" He scoffed, "I'd rather keep it at a democracy."
"Me too." Feliciano agreed with a bob of his head,
"Well let me put it to you like this," Gilbert sighed, "We need to decide to go left or right." His fingers were tapping against the wheel impatiently as he continued."We don't know which way goes where and so we put it up to a vote, we're half and half so we decide to split up and go the way that we each chose, at the end of each way there is a horde of zombies about the size of a small city, we can't take them and we all die because some snot nosed ass hole was too stuck up to agree that maybe we need to stick together and thinks his opinion is better than everyone else. I say we go to one person making the choices."
"Well that's only one person's judgment!" Ludwig snapped, "People make mistakes, what if they lead us the wrong way?" He asked,
"That's when you say, 'hey, you're wrong. Let's talk this through' and we give an opinion." Gilbert yelled back, his eyes twitching noticeably.
"Well power has been known to get to people's heads so they don't always listen!" Ludwig protested.
"Then we put someone else in charge!" Gilbert snapped.
"We can only do that so many times!" Ludwig groaned stubbornly.
"Well then why don't you come up with a better idea then yelling at me to make a point!" Gilbert roared his fists white knuckled against the steering wheel.
"Enough you two!" Alfred shouted, "You saw what happened at the hotel, Kiku actually knew how to lead us and we followed and for the most part we survived. It was only because we listened that we made it out at all. So I agree with Gilbert, we have one solidified leader and others can chip in their opinion when necessary. Got that?" Gilbert grinned triumphantly while Ludwig rolled his eyes and huffed,
"Now that we got that decided, who are we going to choose to be the leader?" Arthur asked from his spot next to Alfred, uncomfortably pressed against the window.
"I vote Al." Gilbert said, startling the American.
"Wait what? I don't think…" Alfred protested too shocked to argue well.
"Yeah, he did lead us out of there without casualties." Elizabeta added, ignoring the American blatantly.
"Ve~ you're right, I go with Alfred." Feliciano smiled, Ludwig's eyebrow twitched, but he didn't disagree.
"Vous êtes sérieux? Really? He's just a kid!" Francis snapped, "He'll lead us into a brick wall before he leads us out of here, right Mathieu?"
"Actually papa, I agree with them." Matthew murmured, "Alfred, although a bit loud and obnoxious, has been a decent lead-"
"Then it's decided!" Iain smiled, "Al, looks like you're in charge so you'd better start leading and shit." Iain laughed his eyes sealing as he leaned against Elizabeta ignoring the raised eyebrow she gave him.
"Seriously?" Alfred asked, a bit shocked,
"You're the obvious pick." Elizabeta shrugged, patting Iain's head with a chuckle.
"I don't think anyone-" Matthew began.
"No one else is qualified enough." Gilbert smiled, leaving Matthew to pout.
"Okay then..." Alfred whispered "I guess if that's what you guys have decided…" He squeaked shooting a look around the group.
"I still don't like this." Ludwig grumbled bitterly.
"Kesesese…You're just mad you aren't in charge, bruderchen." Gilbert teased.
"I think you're right." Feliciano giggled, when Ludwig dipped further into his seat rubbing his forehead angrily.
"Well where to captain?" Gilbert asked, shooting a look at their newly dubbed leader.
"We should head towards the ocean." Alfred said after a moments thought, "As far as we know zombies can't swim."
"To the ocean we go then." Gilbert grinned, his foot stepping on the gas as they vaulted over the final layer of fences and into review.
~X~
Read and Review and you can hug the person of your choice!
