6:34 AM Norway
It took Finland dragging Sweden off of Kugelmugel to get him to stop pushing on his chest like that. The smaller nation had cried, "Sweden, it's no good! It's too late, he's gone!"
Sweden had buried his face in his hands, breathing heavily.
Sealand had begun to sob, pleading, "No, let him keep going, we can't let him die!"
Finland had given him a sorry look, like he wished he could fix everything. "I'm sorry, Sealand. It's no good."
Austria had gathered Kugelmugel up in his arms, but not a word could be pulled from him. Even Hungary, who put a hand on his back and tried to speak to him, could not get through.
Still, Poland and Germany had not returned. The group remained frozen, many unable to decide what to do.
England was the one who spoke first, clearing his throat. "We should bury him and move in the direction of the nearest settlement. I..." he cleared his throat again, "I think we don't have time to waste."
Austria didn't respond, not even moving.
Sealand looked over at the only other remaining child: Moldova. The tiny nation was wearing Romania's sleeves around his feet, and he was sucking on his fingers, despite being much too old for such behavior.
It felt like they were being picked off one by one. Already, many of the toes and fingers of the nations were a whiteish color, sort of dully reflective; they wrapped their arms around their upper bodies, some of them missing sleeves or legs.
Finland was hugging Sweden, standing there shivering with one pale leg completely exposed.
"We need to get moving, or we'll lose others to the cold," England said again, and this time Scotland backed him up.
"Come on, Austria. You can't stay here forever." As Scotland's hand descended onto Austria's shoulders, the aristocrat's shoulders tightened wordlessly.
Hungary sank down next to him, brushing off Scotland's hand and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Please, Austria... You can't stay. I know this hurts so much, but you have to let him go. We can come back for his body when we find civilization."
Still, no response. Austria's entire body to seemed to ooze grief, in an entirely silent way.
England sighed. "Austria, if you don't get up, we'll have to leave without you."
"No, you can't! He'll never find his way out if we leave him," Hungary said, eyes sharp and alarmed. She shook Austria's shoulder, and said, "Please, Austria, I can't lose you! You have to let him go, please!"
Sealand watched, a dull horror gnawing at his stomach. Were they going to leave Austria behind? It seemed nothing was more terrifying than being left behind, short of death. Though being left behind was probably sure death.
Iceland held tighter to his hands.
"Come on," and for the first time, it seemed, Turkey spoke. He nodded to Hungary, and grabbed Austria, peeling his grip off of Kugelmugel. Hungary grabbed his other arm, and despite the strange, quiet keening noises coming from Austria, they were able to move him easily.
They held him back the entire time the rest covered Kugelmugel's body with rocks. His head hung down like he'd lost the ability to hold it up.
"I'm so tired," Sealand heard Moldova say, in a quiet voice.
Romania only clutched him tighter, a sort of deathly panic coming over his face, one he was clearly fighting to hide. "You've already slept so much; stay awake, okay?"
Moldova shivered.
Sealand wondered if the little nation was next. The cold didn't seem to bother Sealand himself as much as it bothered everyone else; his toes had yet to turn white, and while he could feel the chill, his teeth didn't chatter the way Moldova's were.
The group set out, Turkey and Hungary bringing Austria between them. He looked too tired to fight them.
Sealand was carried again, this time by Sweden.
6:45 AM China
"My feet hurt," Bangladesh said, not the first to complain at least a little.
"I know," China muttered, a bit irritably.
Russia smiled, saying, "Don't worry, Bangladesh, we will be there soon."
China didn't say anything, which only made Hong Kong believe they might be farther out from civilization than he was letting on. This place reminded him a lot of Mongolia's land (not the desert or mountains part), though he had seen only a little of Mongolia's land. They could see for miles ahead, and there was nothing in sight.
"Shimmer," came the moan from Mongolia, and it sounded almost like a question. His head was held up slightly from Russia's shoulder, squinting as he stared ahead.
"Oh, wonderful, he's delirious," North Korea said, walking next to Russia with crossed arms.
"Hm," Russia said, adjusting his hold on Mongolia, "What is 'shimmer', comrade?"
Mongolia moaned again, shutting his eyes. This time, it didn't sound like any words.
Hong Kong looked to Israel, as if he had an answer. Israel was also squinting at the horizon, a troubled, irritable look on his face.
"Maybe he sees a mirage," he finally said, shrugging.
"Or maybe the aliens are back," North Korea said, casting a suspicious eye towards the sky. No UFOs appeared to be in sight, however.
This stirred trouble among the nations, and they began to chatter and look towards the sky with apprehension.
India was the first to make order, saying, "Calm down, the aliens are not back. We're all safe, we just have to stick together."
China nodded, probably grateful for India for the first time in his life. "That's right. There's nothing bad happening."
"Tch. You would say that," Israel grumbled, arms crossed. "There's no reason to think we're safe here."
"Ah, comrade Israel, please don't stir up trouble," Russia said with that smile that said he would split your skull open if you disagreed.
"You don't scare me," Israel snapped, glaring at Russia. "They have every right to know that the aliens could come back at any time."
"We know!" Singapore shouted back at Israel. "We know we're in danger, all right? We're not stupid, like you seem to think!"
She was petite, and the 'enemy' of Hong Kong (inasmuch as most economic powerhouses in Asia were his 'enemy'); her long black hair had been tied into a knot. Next to her, Brunei, who had the appearance of a young boy with darker skin than China or Hong Kong, chimed in,
"Stop trying to scare everyone!"
"If the both of you weren't practically children, I would tan your hides," Israel snapped back.
This brought in Malaysia and Indonesia, of course, Malaysia snapping, "You leave them alone, you bastard!"
Malaysia and Indonesia looked a little similar, given that they both had their long hair down and had similar skin tones; however, Hong Kong knew them well enough to know that Malaysia had a heart-shaped face and a wider mouth (and grin). Indonesia's eyes were a softer brown, and she had dimples in her cheeks.
However, he was quite certain Israel didn't even know who he was talking to.
"Oh, stop it! You're all too stuck in lala land to know that we're among attempted murderers and that things will only get worse if we stick together!" Israel was practically growling at the group of Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
"You're the only murderer here!" Singapore nearly squeaked in anger.
Israel was fast, Israel was a soldier; he had already decked Singapore before anybody could react.
She screamed, and Malaysia and Indonesia grabbed him roughly, the former shouting at him, "What is wrong with you, she's a child!"
Hong Kong joined those holding Israel back, as he seemed about ready to fight dirty even against women.
"I won't be the only one who's killed someone when Mongolia succumbs!" Israel shouted, eyes blazing with anger.
Singapore held her face, crying softly.
Russia had already made his way over, clicking his tongue. "No, that is bad, we cannot have that, Israel..."
"The hell is wrong with you?!" China demanded. He threw his arms up in the air, demanding, "Did you want us to abandon you somewhere, or did you want to make it out alive?"
"Is that a threat?" Israel growled, eyes narrowed.
"Please, just stop! This doesn't have to go crazy!" Hong Kong pleaded, gripping around Israel's waist tighter. He could feel the muscle underneath, taut and clearly ready to tear free and go at someone.
Everyone had stopped moving forward.
China stared hard at Israel, saying lowly, "Don't make me make it a threat, understand? You don't want to face me alone." He nodded to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. "Let him go."
They did so, with surprisingly little resistance.
Israel shrugged them off, rolling his shoulders back. He didn't say anything, though when he turned around, there was a scowl on his face.
"You're walking next to Russia," China said severely, even his patience seeming to wear thin.
Russia's hadn't, apparently, because he just smiled at Israel. "You can talk to Mongolia to keep him awake, yes?"
Israel grumbled under his breath, but came by Russia's side.
China nodded, and headed back to the front of the group.
It felt as though they had only temporarily put out the fuse of a powder keg...
6:57 AM Canada
America hadn't stopped crying.
It would have made Canada laugh had it been about the opening of Up, which had been known to make his brother tear up. They would have been in the safety of America's home, on his overstuffed couch and having already finished the popcorn before the beginning was over.
But this wasn't a safe setting. America was grimy, and it was cold, and their feet were going numb. Canada was probably grimy too, and he could feel the urge to cry rise in his chest and make his eyes water every so often.
America fell onto his knees, burying his face in his hands and breaking into low sobs.
Canada crouched beside him, putting a hand on his back. They had lost the other nations long ago, so they could afford to stop. Canada couldn't think of anything to say, so he just rubbed his back.
"He never- we never went out for a beer. I never gave him fucking beer, Canada! Why didn't I just give him the beer?" It sounded sort of silly to focus on whether or not Molossia had gotten to try beer, but it was just the small detail America would hyperfocus on.
"I know..." Canada said softly, knowing it was America's way of grieving. His voice was shaky, chilled.
"Oh god... Why didn't I save him? Why did I hesitate?" America sobbed into his hands.
Canada didn't say that if America had only been more careful, if he had not killed Montserrat, then perhaps Molossia would have had a shot. Maybe he would have still been with them, cold and tired but perhaps moving towards the nearest settlement.
He didn't say that America's treatment of Mexico could have been better, and maybe they could have been friends who would never start a hunt to kill each other. He couldn't've counted the times throughout their history that America referred to Mexico as a 'dirty greaser.'
He didn't say it was America's fault. Even if it was, that was going to help no one.
He just rubbed his back, saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
His own eyes were stinging with tears. He barely knew Molossia, but he had not seen such a savage way of dying in a long time. He closed his eyes, feeling the tears overflow out.
They were relatively quiet for about the next ten minutes.
That was when Canada had to pull them out of it, with a heavy heart. "Come on. We have to keep moving, or they'll find us again," he said, standing.
"I can't," America said, voice sounding like it came up from some abyss of despair.
Canada grabbed his shoulder, managing to pull him up. "Come on. He'd want you to live."
America staggered on his feet, but let himself be led along. He didn't fight Canada at all, which was more concerning than it was a relief.
It was the first time in ages they'd held hands; it was the first time in even longer that Canada had been allowed to lead.
/AN/ I'm just glad to update. It's been a rocky month or so. Happy Halloween Eve, y'all! Also, if any followers from/around Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia have tips for those countries' behaviors/personalities, I would love to hear it. I know more history about them, but I have a hard time characterizing them without stealing from Maaf, which is the most awesome Hetalia web comic I've ever read.