"I'm cold, big brother."
"I know."
"Can we go somewhere warmer?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because then It'll find us."
. . .
. . .
"Big brother?"
"Yes?"
"I'm scared."
Lukas sighed a long, deep sigh and held Emil's head close to his chest. "Me too, little brother. Me too."
He could feel his brother shivering violently in the cold, the brittle wind chilling them both to the bone. He could feel his own body temperature dropping rapidly. He could feel as his brother's rose to an unsafe degree.
But there wasn't a single thing he could do about it.
They had to stay hidden. No matter what. It was after them, and It wouldn't stop until they were dead.
Lukas had been working with dark magic, practicing it and experimenting. Mathias had chosen the most inopportune of times to burst through the door unannounced. And now he was dead. And Tino was dead. And Berwald was dead.
Lukas and Emil were the last ones left, though probably not for long. They had been huddled out in the winter woods for days, food was scarce, shelter was nonexistent, and a creature of indescribable terror was after them. Plus, Emil was badly sick.
And Lukas was useless. He couldn't do anything to help. No spell, no trick, nothing could give any spark of hope for either of them. He knew Emil was going to die. He knew his precious baby brother was going to succumb to the cold. The question was when. Because Lukas knew that he was going to die, too, and he'd rather not leave his ill brother to perish alone. It would be nice not to die at all, but that was unlikely.
Emil coughed into his tiny hand. "B-Big brother, I don't feel good…"
"I know, Em… I-I know." Lukas swallowed hard. His heart was shattering into a million little pieces. What kind of horrible older brother can't even get treatment for their younger sibling? He hugged Emil closer, trying to transfer any sort of body heat he had left, even tucking Emil underneath his shirt.
"Your skin is cold…" The little boy commented quietly, sticking his head out through the top of the shirt and nestling it under Lukas's chin. "Feels nice…"
"You're all warm," Lukas replied back, "That feels nice too." He gently stroked Emil's hair.
"Am I gonna die, big brother?"
Lukas stopped moving his hand. He looked down and saw that Emil was staring right back up at him. The boy's eyes were dull and his face was horribly flushed, he looked as though he might pass on any second.
Lukas shook his head. "You're not going to die."
"Are you sure?" Emil asked, sniffling a little bit and coughing again. "'Cause I feel like I am…"
"I promise you won't die." A couple tears shimmered in Lukas's eyes. He did his best to hold them back. "I promise."
Emil smiled weakly and cuddled closer to his big brother's chest. "That's good. I wouldn't want you to be alone…"
Lukas held Emil tightly and quietly wept as the small boy closed his eyes and fell into slumber, never to awaken again.
He had no one else now, but he wasn't alone quite yet. There's a monster in the forest with him.
And its name is Plague.
And it was all his fault that It was there
A/N: I'm praying this uploads correctly- I have intense anxiety that I'll see the format of Satan when I come to check on this lmao. This is the other story I was talking about in my last fanfic! I hope y'all like it because most people seem to dislike me for it. I don't know why though... Hmmm... ANYWAY! I'll get back to work on my paused fanfictions soon, I swear it! Byyeee~