So I finally updated for the first time in nearly three months! I hope you enjoy this somewhat intense chapter. :)
Latvia stared numbly down at the ground, mind racing from all that had just happened. E-everything just seems to be falling apart! He wrung his hands, fingers trembling slightly. The water's not working, Russia's unconscious, and…
"H-hey, Lithuania, can I talk to you for a second?" Estonia's fatigued voice rang out through the bomb shelter, and Latvia glanced up in surprise.
"W-what do you want to talk about with Lithuania?" he asked, voice unsteady.
"Ah, you don't need to hear about this right now, okay?" Estonia pushed up his glasses, looking away uncomfortably at Latvia's betrayed expression. "I...I don't want to make you more nervous than you already are."
"N-nervous?" Latvia's whole body quivered. "I...I just want to know what's going on! I n-need to know!"
Estonia sighed. "I'm sorry, alright? Really, I am." He turned away, hands clenched into trembling fists. "I-I just can't talk about this with you right now."
"B-but-" Latvia began, voice rising in intensity. Why can't Estonia tell me what's going on? D-does he think I'm too young to hear? He took a shaky step towards the Estonian, reaching out a hand to stop him from walking away. "Estonia-?"
"I said no, Latvia!" Estonia yelled. "Just...just go away!" Taking a deep breath, he pushed Latvia roughly away from him, muscles straining with the force of the blow .
The Latvian toppled backward and landed hard on his back, unable to breathe for a single, terrifying moment. Tears clouded his vision, and he blinked up at Estonia's blurry face staring down at him. "E-estonia…?" he whimpered.
Estonia looked stunned. "Oh no, Latvia!" He ran his fingers through his hair, face ghostly pale. "W-what have I done?"
W-what have I done? Estonia's heart raced. I didn't mean to push Latvia, not at all! I...I guess I just lost control of myself and took it out on Latvia...but I didn't mean to! I would never mean to!
"I-I'm sorry, Latvia, I didn't-" Estonia frantically tried to apologize, but Latvia only backed away from him, eyes wide with fear. When Estonia tried to reach out a hand to help him up, the boy only whimpered.
"D-don't get near me, please!"
Estonia's breath hitched, and he was unable to believe his ears. He's...he's acting like I'm Russia or something! Suddenly, Estonia was unable to stand there for another minute. Head spinning, he turned and ran to the other side of the room towards Lithuania.
Lithuania will make it better, Estonia desperately told himself, feeling the beginnings of a headache as he raced over to where Lithuania half-leaned against a wall. He always puts our burdens on himself, so Latvia and I never have to worry. He'll deal with this and the food situation, I know he will!
Finally reaching the back wall of the fallout shelter, Estonia slowed down to catch his breath. Lithuania was leaning unsteadily against the cinderblock wall as if it was the only thing supporting his weight, and his eyes looked dim and glazed.
"E-estonia?" Lithuania asked, voice almost inaudible. He blinked up at the Estonian as if seeing him for the first time.
Estonia approached Lithuania slowly, sweat pouring down the blond Baltic's haggard face. "Lithuania," he said, half-gasping. "I need your help. Now."
Staring up at the steadily approaching Estonian, Lithuania fought to stay conscious. The room blurred around him, and his stomach felt empty and hollow. His upper back pressed against the cold, hard wall where he had unsteadily wandered after Russia had blacked out.
"W-what…?" Lithuania's voice trembled, and he felt even more light-headed than he had earlier.
Estonia moved closer, placing his sweaty hands against the wall on either side of Lithuania's head. His insistent gaze seemed to pierce into the Lithuanian's eyes.
"I...I don't know what to do," Estonia said almost desperately. "There's no food, no water..."
Lithuania's eyebrows furrowed. He struggled to get his scattered thoughts together and focus on what Estonia was saying, but the Baltic's words seemed muffled and nearly unrecognizable. "No...what?"
"Haven't you heard?" Estonia's voice was louder now. "Don't you know? There's not enough food to last us until the radiation levels go down!"
Lithuania stared up at Estonia in shock. W-what? He tried to reply, to say anything, but he suddenly felt sick and exhausted. A dull pain went through his stomach, and he stifled a whimper. Please don't throw up, please don't throw up, please don't throw up...
"Are you listening?" Estonia grabbed Lithuania's shoulders firmly, causing the older Baltic's breath to catch in his throat. Lithuania's vision blurred and his stomach sloshed even more. O Dieve mano, what's wrong with me? Why do I feel like this?
Estonia began to speak again with more intensity this time, but Lithuania could no longer make any sense of it. He tried to focus on the Estonian's urgent words, but quickly became distracted by something trickling from the ceiling a few feet away from him. What...was that liquid?
Trickling liquid. Lithuania's ears began to ring...or was he hearing little splashing noises? His eyes shot up to meet Estonia's desperate gaze. Am I hallucinating? How long has it been since I've last eaten or drank?
Estonia's grip on Lithuania's shoulders tightened. "Toris! You need to focus on this! It's not just that there's not enough food; there's no water either! We're going to die soon if we can't do something about it!"
Lithuania didn't even bother trying to respond this time. Black spots had popped up in front of his eyes, and he stared at the liquid trickling from the ceiling as if hypnotized. He started to sway a little to the left, but was jostled out of his trance when Estonia began roughly shaking him.
"Lithuania! Listen. To. Me!" Estonia's gaze was steely as he shook Lithuania by the shoulders like a rag doll, the older Baltic's head wobbling back and forth with the sudden movement. "Why aren't you responding? It's like...like you don't care about us!"
"I-I ca-a-an't…" Lithuania's feeble attempts to speak were garbled as Estonia shook him harder. I-I'm so weak...I can't even talk...
"You don't care about me or Latvia. Hell, it's almost like you care more about Russia than you do us!" Estonia was yelling now, face red with exertion. "Just look at you, you've wasted all your energy caring for Russia. What about us, huh?" Estonia gave the older Baltic a threatening glare. "What about us?"
Lithuania felt himself getting weaker; he could feel his consciousness slipping. "Aš...prašom-" he tried to say, slipping into Lithuanian as the words tumbled clumsily out of his mouth. I'm exhausted; I can't do this anymore! His legs collapsed beneath him, and he sank to the floor with a defeated sigh. "E-estija…"
"E-estija…" At the sound of his name, Estonia froze, staring in horror at the half-conscious Lithuanian slumped down on the floor. His heart thumped in his chest, and his sweaty hands clenched until his knuckles turned white.
What have I done? What the hell's wrong with me? First Latvia and now this? He turned away with his face in his hands, just barely holding back a loud whimper. I...I'm a monster. A complete monster.
He wanted to scream. He had to scream. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth wide,turning his head toward the ceiling so he wouldn't have to look at Lithuania.
And that's when he saw the water.
Clear, precious water dripped steadily out of the pipes, making a melodious splashing sound as it reached the floor. Estonia sucked in a trembling breath. W-water...it can't be! Not after all this…
With a shuddering cry, he rushed unsteadily over to the chair that he had stood on earlier. Without any regard for dignity or composure, he collapsed down onto the chair and began to sob hysterically, his contradicting emotions of self-contempt and relief mixing together into bittersweet tears.
So...that was pretty intense! I really wasn't expecting Estonia to do most of the things he did; I think I'm losing control of him, haha.
Anyways, thank you so much to the people who followed and reviewed this even when I haven't updated for a while! All of you inspired me to keep writing and not procrastinate any longer, and it'll really make me happy if you keep reviewing! Hopefully I'll update more quickly next time. :)
Translations:
O Dieve mano: Oh my god (Lithuanian)
Aš...prašom: I...please (Lithuanian)
Estija: Estonia (Lithuanian)