The basement was silent and dreary, much like the majority of the lodge and world around them. Nothing soothed their anxious and battered hearts nor broke them even further. Everything was simply at a stand still- nothing wavering or moving. The seemingly endless rooms and halls down below all appeared the same despite their vast differences.

Feliciano walked slowly, eyes occasionally glancing at the space around them. The Jones' lodge was quite extensive, seemingly more down below. He could recall once Alfred stating that this place was supposed to be a small hotel resort before his father bought it out. Where they walked appeared to be the working quarters with the laundry room and storage spaces. There were other rooms obviously furnished with purposes beyond the concepts of a resort but Feliciano chose to not ponder on them.

"I think dad had an emergency hide out space down here." Matthew whispered, violet hues gleaming in the dim lit area. "He always had us have an emergency plan down here in case anything went wrong... Hopefully it will work for us."

Kiku walked idly beside Matthew, keeping his head down. He did not speak nor make any contact with anyone as they ventured down. Where was the need and desire to. An overwhelming blanket of grief and loss still weighed on his shoulders and the rest of them knew it was best not to try and remove or fix it.

Gilbert limped along, the pain in his back still piercing strong. Yet, it didn't faze him too much. Growing up he learnt how to withstand pain and manage through any type of circumstance no matter what it was. That was the result of being raised in a tough family, especially after the death of his brother. It was an essential aspect that he knew how to survive in the eyes of his parents. And, he wasn't complaining. Hell, more now than ever was grateful for it all.

Click.

The four boys suddenly froze as a soft clicking sound reverberated off of the stone walls. Feliciano stiffened, moving closer to Gilbert. Matthew stared wide eyed at the darkened corridors before them. There was a tap on the floor, then another. The scuffle of something dragging on the ground scraped against the stone floor and made the hairs on everyone's back stand up right. By the sound of its movements, it didn't sound humanly normal, unless it was someone with a terrible limp.

"Wh-Who's there?" Matthew called out into the dim lit area before them, squinting. Gilbert narrowed his eyes, trying to depict anything that was seen before. There was nothing, odd to say. There wasn't any silouettes or anything that showed that there was a physical being right there. It was just... empty.

Feliciano instinctively shuffled his way behind Gilbert, the ominous taps and scrapes unnerving his already on edge emotions.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. A low, maniacal laugh echoed around them, it nearly deafening them. It was so loud, so creepy. So chilling.

"Run!" Gilbert shouted, shoving Feliciano and Kiku behind him and pushing them forward to start running back. Matthew's breathing hitched as he, too, followed behind as they all ran. Their rushed footsteps crescendoed down the dark hallway, the laughter behind them increasing in volume every second. Feliciano felt hot tears roll down his cheeks in silent, simply too scared to even make a scream or cry. Kiku never looked behind him as he ran, scared as well but still too dazed to care.

Gilbert looked left and right at the countless small rooms that they passed by. There were lots of places to go hide but where would be best. Every room was either in shambles or held no door. There was no potentially safe space to go.

"There!" The light haired male exclaimed, pointing a finger at an open door. It appeared to be the opening to a kitchen or laundry room. The door was in tact and from the quick glimpses he could get he could see there was a handle and lock. "Everyone, run in there!"

No one needed a second command. They all ran into the opened doors with their heart nearly being puked out. Feliciano slipped in first, immediately falling to the floor as he tried to catch his breath. Running never was his best ability- especially in circumstances with high panic. Kiku came next, leaning against the wall as he attempted to regain feeling in his legs. Gilbert was about to go in before he realized something was missing.

"Matthew?" He called out, looking around. Matthew was no where in sight. Gilbert didn't even realize him falling behind and not keeping up with them. There was no response back, sending a chill down Gilbert's spine.

"Gilbert! Get in here! Quickly!" Feliciano cried out, the scraping outside getting louder. The thing was coming closer. Yet, Matthew was no where in sight.

Gilbert opened his mouth to oppose, not wanting leave Matthew outside. He couldn't leave a friend out there to fend for his own. However, he didn't want to jeopardize everything for them and let harm touch Feliciano and Kiku. Besides, Matthew wasn't even seen anywhere...

Reluctantly, Gilbert shut the door, locking it hesitantly. Matthew was still out there, but this was the safest thing to do at the moment.

"Wh-Where's Matthew?" Kiku questioned, looking at Gilbert. Gilbert kept his back to them staring blankly at the closed kitchen door.

Gilbert didn't turn to face them, merely staring blankly at the shut door before him. He wasn't sure how to feel at the moment, nonetheless he felt terrible. He... just abandoned a friend. But, it was for a good cause right? It was to save two lives while potentially sacrificing one. In a sense, it was the best he could have done. He had to think of the better of the majority.

With a sigh, Gilbert turned back to Kiku and Feliciano, who returned his blank stare with an anticipating one.

"We lost him. I couldn't find him when we got here and we couldn't risk whatever is out here getting inside." He said softly, all emotion leaving his tone. "I'm sure he found another room to hide in though. So... let's not think the worst."

The two others opened their mouths to speak but closed them, casting their eyes down awkwardly. They understood what Gilbert meant but that didn't hide the fact they were still very concerned for their friend who could or could not be dead. Instead, they just tried to 'enjoy' and take a breather in the empty kitchen from the hectic night they were enduring.

This really was a night. None of them could even believe how much has spiraled out of control. All were certain that the moment they entered the mountains they would never had guessed this is how it would turn out. Yeah, the start wasn't the most joyous or exciting but the most bit of 'unsettling' was reliving the memories of their dead friends. The concept of relapsing through grief seemed like a wonderful way to go than all this. That alternate was desired for greatly.

Kiku took out his phone quickly to check the time. From the brightness of his screen, the time 10:00pm. There still was a lot of time before dawn- before their rescue came to their aid. Yet, even from the time that had already passed, so many horrors had already taken place. Who knew what would happen next.

Clatter.

The three boys jumped in unison as the sound of some metal container in the walk in freezer could be heard. The freezer wasn't functioning, as evident to the lack of frost on the window. It resembled most of what the kitchen portrayed- empty, untouched for ages, dirty. However, the door was slightly ajar. Feliciano winced quietly as he shuffled close to Gilbert once more.

"Stay quiet." The pale male said in a whisper, slowly creeping towards the freezer. The sound wasn't so loud and there was anything significantly haunting about it. Whoever or whatever was in there was at a disadvantage- three against one. And, with some fleeting feeling of courage, Kiku and Feliciano crept alongside Gilbert as he went closer to the freezer.

Slowly, they made their way towards the small area. More sounds began to be heard from its vicinity, all extremely hushed. A scuff of a shoe. Ragged breathing. The slight kicks of whatever metal bucket or so that had fallen. Reaching the door, Gilbert hesitantly pushed it open all the way, its hinges creaking deafening their ears for a period of time. Peering inside, the three felt all the air in their lungs disappear.

Curled up in the corner of the freezer was Alfred, hands tied tightly in front of him in rough rope. His eyes were wide and broken beyond belief as they flickered up to the three figures in the doorway. His shirt front was drenched in blood from the incident back in the slaughter house. However, his chest rose up and down quickly with frantic breaths as if panic surged through him. When Gilbert, Kiku, and Feliciano made their presence clear in the doorway, Alfred flinched and attempted to scoot away.

"Alfred?!" Kiku exclaimed in surprise, eyes gleaming with relief. "You're alive!"

He couldn't understand how this could be? He'd watched Alfred be hacked in the stomach with an ax. He saw the blood pour in tremendous amounts from his abdomen. He saw him pass out and go limp. How was he not dead? How is he still alive? More so, why is he alive and tied up down here as if some torture victim. So many new questions prodded at their minds as they simply froze in utter surprise.

Feliciano smiled slightly, so relieved to see Alfred alive. "Alfred! You're okay!"

Alfred didn't respond quickly to his friend's remark. He simply stared at the three of them from the floor with fearful eyes.

"Alfred, it's us." Gilbert stepped forward to go into the freezer, noticing the other's hesitant composure with them. Did he even recognize who they were? At the notion, Alfred winced and pushed himself away. His face paled in terror as he looked up at Gilbert. However, the fear was not directed at Gilbert or any of his friends. His fear was directed at the masked figure right behind them.

"L-Look out-" Alfred gasped, tears falling down his cheeks.

Before Gilbert, Kiku or Feliciano could turn around, all three of them felt a painful blow to the back of the head before they all passed out.

...

Ha. Gotcha.

...

A/N:

Wow, an update. I know, weird.

Like I explained in my other ongoing story, I'm not into Hetalia anymore. It doesn't interest me and, quite frankly, a lot of people in the fandom are incredibly rude and make writing for this fandom a chore and not as enjoyable as it once was. Nonetheless, I'm going to finish my two stories cause I don't wanna be one of "those authors" who leaves a story unfinished for years lol.

But yeah, enjoy. Sorry if my writing is half assed. I just need to get going with the story.

(Also, I'm getting into other things like Overwatch and Rick and Morty so I might have little drabbles soon about that- mainly with Overwatch though.)