Shinigami-cat: Okay people! New chapter time… I OWN NOTHING!
Sewer rats
It was twenty minutes until they were to arrive at Berlin, and Gilbert was nervous to say the least. He didn't want to bring up the rumour in case he upset Canada again. At the moment he was sitting on his bed the room with his knees pressed up against his chest. His stomach was doing flips. 'This is going to be dangerous… Very dangerous… Oh man this is scary… But I'm too awesome to be afraid.' He looked over at Canada, he was looking out the window softly singing that creepy poem again.
"Bad little bird stay in your cage. Watch all your friends die away, because soon you will be next, choking on your blood and fears." He swayed slightly as he spoke. "If I find you have escaped me I will have to tear off your wings. So don't fly away my beloved little bird and just drown in your tears." Once he had finished singing he looked over at Gilbert. "Are you ready to go? Haven't left anything behind?"
Gilbert shook his head. "No I have everything… So… I've heard that Berlin is pretty dangerous."
Canada shrugged and looked back out the window. "It's not that bad. A few B-Plagues and G-Plagues here and there, but nothing that dangerous."
"You said they are guards and the soldiers." Said Gilbert. "Doesn't that mean they are dangerous? Well more dangerous than the W-Plagues?"
Canada contemplated this for a while. "I guess… Perhaps we'll try getting in the back way." Gilbert didn't want to know what the back way was. He just frowned and rested his chin on his knees. He wanted to meet Prussia, but he wasn't sure about the whole running into Plague infested Berlin to do it. Canada sighed. "What's up Gilbert? You've been really quiet."
Gilbert shrugged. "Nothing… Just worried about the Plagues I guess."
Canada walked over to Gilbert and sat next to him. He put his hand on Gilbert's shoulder and smiled. "Hey don't worry. I'll make sure we get in and get out safely. I know Berlin like the back of my hand." Even with Canada's reassurance he didn't feel any better. Canada seemed to sense his unease. He sighed and brushed some hair out of Gilbert's eyes. "If you're that worried about going to Berlin we can just go to England's house. I can always try and see Prussia later. It's not like he's going anywhere."
Gilbert shook his head. "No. You want to see him and… And I want to meet him. I mean I'm one of his people right?"
Canada smiled, but his eyes seemed to be swimming in guilt. "Yeah, you are one of his people. He'll be happy to see a new face." The sound of metal screaming and pistons hissing indicated that the train was coming to a halt. Canada sighed and stood up. "Well let's get going."
Gilbert nodded and followed Canada off the train. They were outside a graveyard in the German countryside. With a hiss and the groan of metal gears the train started up again and vanished in a puff of grey smoke. Gilbert looked around and frowned; nothing but grass and trees for miles around. "Which way to Berlin?"
"I have no idea." Said Canada.
"How can you not know?" Asked Gilbert. "I thought you said you knew Berlin like the back of your hand?"
"Yes Berlin." Said Canada. "But this is the German countryside. I have no idea where we are." Canada looked down at the road and started to walk down it.
"Where are you going?" Asked Gilbert.
Canada shrugged. "I have no idea. But it'll be an adventure." Gilbert couldn't argue with that. He reluctantly followed Canada down the road.
XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX
As it turns out Canada seemed to have chosen the right road to travel on because they happened to see a street sight, pointing them in the direction of Berlin. The further along the road they went the more urbanized things became. Off in the distance they could see a thick, black cloud billowing up into the sky. Canada immediately tensed and gulped.
"What's wrong?" Asked Gilbert.
Canada shivered. "Um… What's wrong is also what's right." He looked over at Gilbert with sorrowful eyes. "If we want to get into Berlin undetected we need to travel through the sewers, but the only sewer I know that will lead directly to Berlin goes right under a H farm."
Gilbert bit his bottom lip and nodded. H farms seemed to be a really horrible topic for Canada. If there was another way into Berlin Canada would have found it. He would have avoided H farms at all costs. They must have been horrible places. After a few more meters Canada diverted off into the trees and Gilbert followed.
As they walked through the trees they started to hear industrial noises; the grinding of gears, the hiss of steam, the buzz of electricity, the clink of metal and most importantly, the chatter of humans. Gilbert looked over at Canada to see how he was reacting to the noise and gulped. Canada looked like he was going to be sick.
They came to a small hill and Canada dropped to his knees and gestured for Gilbert to do the same. Once Gilbert was on his stomach Canada commando crawled up the hill and peeked over the top. Gilbert did the same and was shocked at what he saw; a large grey building with no windows and one door, two smoke stacks crudely stuck on top of the building billowed thick black smoke, around the building were what looked like shacks, a high four meter fence surrounded the place. If he looked closer he could just make out the shapes of people walking around the shacks and large, well armoured people patrolling the area.
"Is this a H farm?" He whispered.
Canada sighed sadly. "H farms… Human farms… Farming camps… They are all the same horrific thing."
"What do they do here?" Asked Gilbert. Canada couldn't hold back the truth now. Whatever he thought he was protecting him from had to stop.
Canada bit his bottom lip, thinking about how to word it. "Basically holding cells where the Plagues keep the humans and farm them like cattle. As soon as a girl is sexually mature she is moved to one of the main building where she is artificially inseminated. When a male is sexually mature they have to give sperm samples to aid with their breeding program."
Gilbert's eyes went wide with horror. "Breeding program? Why would they need to breed humans?"
"Plagues need humans to eat and to create more of them." Said Canada, pain and sorrow tugged at his voice. "Plagues were once human, but once they turn they become infertile so they need living humans so breed. Their species survival depends on young, strong, fit humans… But once Plagues can start breeding they'll just use humans for food. They'll let them breed with whoever they want and eat what they please."
It was just too horrific for Gilbert to handle. Plagues were human and were now using them as food and as a means to continue their grotesque species. He felt like he was going to be sick. Plagues were like zombies, but they weren't. They were smart. They were trying to evolve. Gilbert looked at Canada with wide eyes. "We have to help them."
Canada chuckled darkly. "Help them? The people trapped in there like rats? How do you propose we do that? Just walk up and blast them with weapons we don't have? Granted we do have swords, but that's pathetic."
"You can use magic." Said Gilbert. He couldn't just walk away after finding out what H farms were really. "You can save them easily."
"That's suicide." Said Canada. "No one can take on an entire H farm and live to tell the tail."
Gilbert growled. "Well if you won't help them I will." He started to stand up but Canada pulled him back down.
"What are you doing?" He snapped. "You just want to go in there and act like a hero? Go and get yourself killed? Is that what you want? The best way we can help is by ending this war. And the only way this war will end is if Hunter is killed…" At the mention of Hunter's name Canada shivered and immense sadness clouded his eyes. But only for a moment. "Let's get going." He crawled back down the hill and waited for Gilbert to follow.
Gilbert looked over at the H farm one last time before following Canada. He looked at Canada and growled. "Then we'll find him and kill him."
Canada sighed sadly. "How? He hardly ever leaves the Bird Cage. The only way someone would be able to get up there is if he wants someone up there."
Gilbert nodded slowly. "Anyway… how are we going to get into Berlin?"
Canada thought for a second and frowned. "Well… There's only one way I know how to get into Berlin undetected. But it isn't the most… sanitary way."
"I don't even want to know." Said Gilbert.
Canada chuckled and started to walk back into the forest. "Yeah that's probably best." They didn't have to walk very far before they came to a large concrete slab. In the middle of the slab was a manhole.
Gilbert's eyes went wide and he shook his head. "No way in hell. There are many things I'll do, but go walking in a sewer is not one of them."
Canada rolled his eyes and started to pull the manhole up. "It's not that bad really… You'll get used to the smell eventually." As soon as the manhole was removed the stench or rot and decay filled the air making them both gage. "Remember I said eventually." Coughed Canada. He held his nose and jumped in. "Come on Gilbert." He called. "It's not that bad. Besides if we don't start moving soon a Plague or a Grabber might find us and take us to the H farm."
Gilbert knew Canada was probably lying, but he really didn't want to risk it. He held his breath and jumped in. He landed in what he assumed was sewer sludge. It covered his shoes and the hems of his pants. "That's rank."
Canada shrugged. "Yeah well it got you down here right? Let's get going."
"But how the hell are we going to see?" Asked Gilbert. They could only see a few meters in front of them because of the open manhole. Other than that it was pitch black.
Canada simple smiled and pulled out the lighter beads. "Is there a stick somewhere we could use?"
Gilbert looked around and saw a discarded bit of rusted pipe. "We could use that?"
Canada nodded in agreement and picked it up. Thick globs of green slime fell off it and collected into a plie on the floor. Gilbert cringed at the slime. That could have been anything. Canada just shrugged it off and ripped a sleeve off his jumper and wrapped it around one end of the pipe and threw a lighter bead at it. The fabric instantly caught on fire lighting the tunnel up. Canada smiled and looked over at Gilbert. "Now that that's sorted let's go."
Gilbert sighed dramatically and crossed his arms. "Fantastic." He looked up at the sky through the manhole and frowned. It would be a long time before he would see the sky again. "Let's get going."
The sewer seemed to give off an eerie green glow; possibly because of the noxious gas in the sewer or the alga on the walls. It was gross to say the least. Especially when some of it dripped onto his head or down the back of his neck. "Um… this isn't toxic is it?"
"Not sure." Said Canada with a shrug. "Besides if it was would you want to know?" He had a point.
Soon they came to a fork in the road so to speak. They could either go down the tunnel to the left or the one to the right. Canada frowned and looked over at Gilbert. "Which way?"
Gilbert shrugged. "I have no idea. Just as long as we don't run into any Plagues or Grabbers I'm good."
Canada nodded and started to walk down the left path. As they walked along it the noticed that the path was getting narrower, and more crowded by rubbish. This wouldn't have been a problem if the rubbish didn't tug at their legs. Eventually they had to stop to pull it off. 'What the hell are these?' Thought Gilbert. 'Sticks?'
He pulled one of the supposed sticks off his pants and looked at it; it was thin and flat, broad at one end and thin at the other, brown and slightly splintered and had some weird brownish red almost black powdery stuff coming out of the middle.
"Bones!" Cried Canada in shock. He dropped what was in his hand to the ground and pointed the torch to the ground. The floor was littered with skeletons.
Gilbert dropped the bone in his hand and gulped. "You just had to make us walk down some bone garbage shoot didn't you?"
Canada shivered and closed his eyes tight. "If I knew… If I knew that… that there were bones down here… I would have taken the other path." He started to hyperventilate.
Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Canada? Are you afraid of bones?"
"Stupid phobia but yes." Whispered Canada. He started to shake violently and dropped the torch.
Gilbert quickly grabbed the torch and put his hand on Canada's shoulder. "Um no offence but how the hell can you be afraid of bones? I mean we were eating meat right off animal bone before. How can you be afraid of them?"
Canada whimpered and hugged himself. "Animal bones I can handle… Human bones are a completely different story."
"What makes you think they are human bones?" Asked Gilbert. "A lot of these could be animal bones you know."
"Gilbert." Growled Canada darkly. "We are under Plague central. Plagues only eat two things; humans and weak Plagues. They are both human Gilbert… Well one was… But you get the idea."
Gilbert sighed. He knew Canada shouldn't have been so afraid, but he would have had a good reason. He took Canada's hand and smiled slightly. "It's okay. This is what we'll do; I'll lead us out of here and we'll take the other tunnel."
"No." Snapped Canada. "We have to keep going. If both of the tunnels lead to Berlin than it doesn't matter which way we go. Both tunnels will have bones in them."
Gilbert sighed. He didn't want to make Canada even more uncomfortable than he already was. "Fine we'll keep going… Um do you have any idea where the hell we are?"
Canada nodded. "Yeah kind of. We just need to keep going straight ahead. Eventually there should be a tunnel leading off to the left. We need to go down it."
"Okay." Whispered Gilbert. "Just don't let go of my hand and be careful where you step." Canada nodded and gripped Gilbert's hand tight. A dark blush covered Gilbert's face. He was thankful Canada had his eyes shut, or it would have been really embarrassing. He held the torch up and slowly started to walk through the bones, occasionally kicking some out of the way. But he tried to do this as little as possible, the clatter made Canada flinch.
Eventually Gilbert saw the tunnel Canada was talking about and they were able to walk into. As soon as Gilbert said it was okay Canada opened his eyes and blushed. "Um… thanks for that… I didn't… That is um…"
"It's cool." Said Gilbert reassuringly. "Everyone has fears."
Canada smiled softly and looked around the tunnel. "Okay… there's a hatch or door around here somewhere…" He looked down at a puddle of green water on the ground and frowned. "Of course it's there…" He crouched down and put his hands in the water, feeling around.
Gilbert cringed. "Ew. What are you doing?"
Canada furrowed his brows in concentration. "I'm trying to get a grip on the stupid hatch thing… Found it!" He quickly yanked a metal door out of the floor and the water quickly drained away. Canada grinned and poked his head down the hole and quickly looked around. "Just as I thought." He quickly stood up and jumped into it.
Gilbert gasped and looked down. "STOP DOING THAT!" He screamed. He couldn't see Canada at all, it was too dark.
"I'm fine!" Called Canada from the darkness. "Jump. I'll catch you. Just throw down the torch first."
Gilbert frowned but did as he was told and threw it down. Canada caught it and placed it on the ground. "Your turn."
'He had better not drop me or he's dead.' He closed his eyes and jumped. Canada did catch him, but he stumbled and fell flat on his back.
Canada gasped for breath. "Can't breathe… Too heavy… My back…"
Gilbert blushed and quickly got off of Canada. "Sorry. Um… where under Berlin are we?"
Canada slowly stood up and picked up the torch. "We are under the sewers. Way more hygienic and less likely to run into dead people." He walked up to the wall and dipped the torch into some trough that jutted out of the wall. The whole place flooded with light revealing soft cream coloured stone walls.
Gilbert's eyes went wide. "Awesome… Where are we?"
Canada put the torch on the ground and though for a moment. "Well… think of Berlin like a mall. You have all the things above ground like the shops while you have underground parking. Think of this as parking level two." He started to walk down the hall with a smile on his face.
Gilbert frowned and started to follow him. He furrowed his brows in thought. 'Parking level two? Doesn't that mean there is another level below us?'
TBC
Shinigami-cat: Damn that was painful to write… Please review.
