Author's Note: Just as promised, here is America and Baby Florence. It came out rather nicely on the second day. I made a little reference to another series that I am working on in the whole Wasteland Project. (It's going to be in its final season in 2023.) Anyway, I wonder what I am going to do next week. Maybe check in with Yao and Ju? Yeah, we haven't heard them since before Halloween. We are going to have to do that. I do know who I will focus on for Christmas 2022. You are going to have to stick around for that. For now, enjoy this week's match.
Match Twenty-Two: Dragon Blood Tree:
Meanwhile, America's home is still calm. But he can see what's going on. No one goes to the world meetings anymore. It's just him and a few others. When did everyone become so distant? He's tried calling everyone but no one picks up. Arthur doesn't leave his apartment anymore. Europe has been swallowed up by an endless fog since October and it's not letting up. Plus there were reports about a dark circus.
It was too much for the American man to process.
"I'm home!" he called. Alfred found Lydia asleep on the couch. He walked over and shook her on the shoulder. The young woman woke up with a start.
"Huh?! What?" she asked. The American man tried not to laugh. Lydia blinked for a moment.
"Oh, it's you," she said.
"Have a good nap?" he asked.
"I guess," Lydia said. She stared at him for a moment.
"How's Baby Flo?" the American man asked.
"Good," Lydia said. "I just put her down for her nap after I changed her diaper."
"Thank you so much for this," he said. She cocked her head to the side.
"For what?" she asked.
"Just… being there," Alfred said.
"Of course I am. She's my niece," Lydia said as she wrinkled her nose.
"You know what I mean," the American man said. He turned and walked down the hall. He made his way to his daughter's nursery. The baby was sound asleep in her crib. Alfred smiled as he walked over for a look. She looked so small in her jammies and blanket. He reached down and ran his finger down her right foot.
It's been quiet lately. Almost too quiet. That should be fine, right?
He hadn't seen Allen around either. Maybe he's found something else to do. Fine by him. His little girl was going to be safe.
"I won't let anybody hurt you," Alfred whispered down into the crib. He leaned down and kissed the baby on the forehead. The man sat down next to her crib.
He had a feeling the quiet wasn't going to last long. The question was when the other shoe was going to drop. Alfred tried to push that thought out of his head. No, this wasn't his problem. All that mattered was his baby.
The American man turned back to his sleeping little girl. She wasn't going to be pulled into some twisted war that didn't involve him. Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Alfred quickly looked over at the baby. Much to his relief, she was still sound asleep. The American man puffed up his cheeks as he looked at the screen.
One missed call.
Alfred didn't recognize the number. They left a voice message. He should have just deleted it and moved on.
Instead, the American man looked down at his baby. Good, still asleep. Alfred quickly made it into the hall. He held his phone to his ear and hit play. A confused look came over his face. Was that… circus music playing over the phone? The message only lasted for twenty seconds. Alfred stared at his phone.
"What the hell?" he asked.
"Al?" Lydia asked down the hall. The American man lifted his chin.
"Lydia?" he asked as he walked down the hall. He found her still on the couch, holding up her phone.
"Did you…?" he began to ask.
"You did too?" Lydia asked. They stared at each other as they tried to piece together what was going on.
That was just the first warning. Alfred wanted to write it off as a prank call but Lydia wasn't too sure.
"Why are you looking so worried?" the American man asked. "They haven't called back. Maybe somebody got bored and decided to randomly prank call us."
"It didn't feel like it," Lydia said. She turned and looked at the American man.
"I think somebody's trying to warn us," she said. Alfred tried to laugh it off.
"Warn us? Warn us about what?" he asked. She didn't have an answer. Alfred's laughter slowly died away. He began to remember a nightmare that he had been having for the past couple of days.
The trees looked so dead. Black with no leaves. The branches looked like they would crumble if you touched them. Something about these trees scared Alfred. He couldn't think of a reason why. The fog started rolling in on the ground. Suddenly, more trees started to appear. Alfred covered his mouth with his shirt and stepped back.
"W-What is that?" he tried to ask. His voice got lost in the silence. The American man looked around as the trees got closer. Alfred started backing away. Why was this forest growing so rapidly? The American man found it hard to breathe. It felt like something or someone was choking him. Sores began to appear all over his body. His vision began to go in and out.
"W-W-What's happening to-?" His voice was cut off by coughs. Coughing so hard that his chest hurt. He sank to his knees wheezing. His eyes began to water. The trees were getting closer. Was he going to die out here?
Suddenly, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder. Alfred felt his body being lifted up. He didn't get a chance to look around as he was being dragged away. The American man still couldn't breathe. All he could see through his blurry vision were the trees. Those dead damned trees that kept growing. But where was he going?
"Hey. Who are you? Where are we going?"
He could hear himself saying that in his head. But the words won't come out. Everything around him became dark.
"Al? Al? Al!"
The American man quickly looked up. Lydia had a concerned look on her face.
"Are you feeling okay?" she asked. Alfred slowly shook his head.
"No," he said. "I think I will go for a walk now." He turned and walked out the door.
"Al?" Lydia asked. The American man walked out the door and closed it behind him.
Meanwhile, Allen sat in the park with a bottle of beer in a brown paper bag. He doesn't usually drink. However, he already knows how this is going to end. Europe and Asia are already falling victim to it. Africa will follow suit. Soon the Americas will be hit with the plague. And Australia…
Allen shook his head. He tilted his bottle to the sky.
"You're starting to see it now, Al," he said to himself. "The question is what are you going to do now." He took one more sip of his beer before getting up and walking away.
