ICELAND
I don't like most people. They're loud, obnoxious and most of all- annoying. Especially when they try to get you to call them Big Brother, which I believe is a major issue that should be dealt with by avoiding contact with such a person at all times. Unfortunately for me, however, such a person is not my only problem. I'm usually surrounded by an ominous tall guy who speaks rarely and struggles to say what he thinks, a shorty who probably has sunshine coming out of his ass and is confirmed among our group to be Santa, and then there's a spiky haired imbecile who most likely still watches Rasmus Klump before bedtime. The reason why I deal with them is unknown to me. If I had to say it would be probably because they're 'family'. In fact I think that's it. Nothing more, nothing less.
For a long time my world was dark. I didn't really care. Why would I? It had always been that way- for as long as I could remember, at least. It was cold, empty. Lonely. But like I said, at the time I didn't care. I could sit for hours with only a Puffin for company, just staring up at the glowing lights floating in the night sky. It was like I could see into heaven. In retrospect, I used to live for these moments, for when the day came the lights would disappear and, in my own way, I missed them.
But that was a long time ago. Nowadays, my problem isn't loneliness- it's actually finding time to be alone. Even now, though the room is silent, I'm not by myself. And I can't say that I hate that fact.
"I've told them." Glancing round, I expected Sweden to still be behind me. He was gone. A little after Norway and Denmark had left he had gone to check on Finland, but when he took too long to come back I went to find him. As I came up the stairs, I saw him standing at Tino's open door, his face hidden by shadow. I had known immediately something was wrong. Looking into the empty room now made me feel slightly nauseous. Turning away, I padded down the stairs. As expected, the front door had been left wide open. Here I was thinking that I was going to have a quiet evening in. I shook the thought away. "Yeah, as if I'd ever be able to have a quiet evening in this place." I stopped for a second. Silence was my only reply. I clicked my tongue in annoyance at my own stupidity. What had I been expecting? As if I'd get a reply in this empty house. Grabbing a muffler, I wrapped it loosely around my neck. It wasn't right. No matter how much it pissed me off. No matter how loud, obnoxious or annoying they may be. Right now I didn't care how ominous the tall guy was, or how little he spoke. I don't care how bright the light coming from the short guy's ass may be, nor about the fact that on Christmas eve he mysteriously disappears for the night. I couldn't give a fuck how imbecilic the spiky hair douchebag was, and the fact he might still watch kid's cartoons doesn't matter to me. A certain person making me call him Big Brother? Sometimes such a thing makes me want to scream- but right now I couldn't care less. They are my family. That is the only thing that matters to me. Closing the door to the dark, silent house, the feeling that told me something bad was bound to happen grew stronger by the second. No, I won't let anything happen. That house should never be quiet.
Right then, I vowed that I'd never let that place be empty again.
DENMARK
They had been searching for around an hour already but there was still no sight of Finland. At one point they had both spotted Sweden in the distance but he had already disappeared down one of the streets before they could reach him. Denmark stopped for a moment and leant heavily on a lamppost. "Don't tell me you're finally feeling your age?" Norway's usual flat sarcasm failed to hide his true concern. Mathias shook his head.
"We should split up then," Lukas gestured towards the woods, "I'll go there, while you can go to the convenience store nearby and ask around. Bro, you're making me feel colder just looking at you, so you need to go somewhere warmer. Order a coffee or something." Denmark met his gaze but remained silent. With a certain disappointment, Norway turned around and started to walk away. Pausing for a second, he turned his head slightly. His breath formed a cloud in front of him. After hesitating a while longer, he shifted his head so he was looking completely away from Mathias. "Get me a coffee too." Norway muttered before jogging quickly away. Denmark stood in silence for a while. It was painfully obvious that what Norway had wanted to say hadn't been those words. He smiled to himself slightly. It was to give him reassurance more than anything. Looking at the forest at the end of the street, an overpowering feeling of dread took over his body. Lukas had probably felt it too, which was why he had gone in. "Sorry," Mathias whispered, "But I won't be getting that coffee for you." He broke into a run down the pavement towards the opening in the army of trees. With each step the feeling that something terrible was about to happen grew stronger. Denmark wanted to vomit, but he forced himself forward. The other Nordics were probably in there- drawn in by the same oppressing vibes that came from the woods that Denmark could feel.
Lingering at the back of his mind, a laughing shadow mocked his resolve. It told him it was too late. There was no-one left to save. That his friends were already dead. But IT HAD BEEN FUN AND NOW THEY ARE THE COLOUR RED- Mathias slammed his fist into the trunk of a tree he has been passing. The shadow in his mind immediately disappeared as the pain in his hand blossomed and, though it was hard to see in the darkness, blood began to seep through where the skin had broken on his knuckles. Doing his best to focus on the pain, he continued to run on the uneven ground. His idea appeared to be working, as the throbbing in his hand stopped his mind from remaining open to attacks from… whatever the hell the shadowy thing was. "Ha, I must be going crazy. I don't even know what it is that I'm imagining up in my head." His voice sounded unsteady and breathless even to himself. Bending over slightly as he ran, he propelled himself onwards into the ever present darkness- his determination leading him on.
