Alrighty. Chapter 6, here we come!
Warnings: Zombies. They are actually IN this chapter!
Arthur couldn't sleep. It didn't seem to matter to his sleep deprived mind that for the first time in days he was warm, safe, and being cradled in the arms of a man who he held such strange and wonderful feelings for. He had thought originally that with Antonio's arms draped around him, and the relative silence of the street he would at least doze through the night, but after about three in the morning his eyes seemed to be plastered open.
Shifting slightly in Antonio's hold, Arthur sighed when the man only tightened his lose hold around his shoulders all the more. After a few well timed shifts he managed to untangle himself from the Spaniard's arms and sit up, running his fingers through his hair with a sigh. Maybe if he went to the bathroom and tried to wash up a bit he would be able to sleep.
Standing stiffly, Arthur moved towards the door of the room, smiling slightly when Antonio's eyes opened momentarily with an inaudible question. "Go back to sleep, love." He ordered softly chuckling when the man immediately fell back into the realm of sleep. Grabbing some clothes, he shot one last look at Antonio before moving into the pitch black hall silently.
Turning to the bathroom, Arthur rubbed at his eyes sleepily before hesitating when he heard a familiar noise. Scratching? Rotating on his heel towards the noise, coming from the door to Gilbert and Elizabeta's room, he felt his heart clench in his chest when he located the source of the noise.
An infected woman was standing at the door, her nails dragging down the front of the wood as she attempted to get past the barrier that had formed in front of her. Clapping a hand over his own mouth to stifle a whimper of fear Arthur moved backwards towards his room his heart thundering in his chest.
She hadn't noticed him. Maybe she wouldn't if he could just…
He had never known a floorboard could be so loud.
The woman's head snapped up with an inhuman growl of hunger when the mortified Brit stepped on the creaking board only a few feet away from his room. Swearing as she lurched forward with an gurgling cry, Arthur stumbled backwards and fumbled with the knife he had strapped to his hip.
She collided with him with enough force to send him sprawling backwards. Crashing into a bookshelf he was temporarily dazed as the mutilated woman desperately clawed and snapped at him. Cursing noisily, Arthur managed to get ahold of his knife after a brief moment of paralyzing panic.
With a grunt of effort, the Brit lurched up and rammed the blade into the side of the infected's head with a sickening squelch. Instantly, the spark of life in the pale milky eyes went out and the woman slumped leaving Arthur pinned beneath her putrid form.
Gagging, Arthur shakily pulled his knife out of the woman's skull and scrambled out from under her. Breathing heavily, the Englishman fought the urge to vomit as he caught a glimpse of the wound on the side of the woman's head and stumbled backwards a bit.
He heard Elizabeta and Gilbert's door swing open behind him, and turned to face them with a sigh of relief. That was of course until he caught sight of the pan swinging towards his head.
"Elizabeta wai…!" Arthur yelped only to cut off with a roar of pain as his shoulder exploded with pain. Seeing stars for a brief moment, Arthur let out an agonized whimper as he crumbled to the ground cradling his shoulder, his arm numb.
"Arthur?! Oh my God! Are you…" Elizabeta gasped moving to kneel next to the gasping Englishman only to be pulled backwards by a livid looking Spaniard. Stumbling back a bit into her husband's hold she looked back at the duo with wide and mortified eyes. She couldn't believe that she could have mistaken Arthur for an infected now that her fear cleared, she didn't see how she could have made the mistake.
Antonio moved to Arthur's side, twitching as he fought to keep himself from retaliating against Elizabeta. He knew she hadn't meant to hit Arthur. With almost exaggerated calm he pulled back Arthur's shirt a bit to get a look at the injury. His eyes widening slightly, he gently probed the inflamed, swelling skin that was already bruising on Arthur's shoulder.
"Are you alright amor?'' He asked before his head snapped up at a shout coming from down the stairs, a blur of albino already rushing past him in his haste to get downstairs.
"I'm fine It's just..." Arthur looked up startled as Gilbert tore down the hall following Ludwig's shout. With some help from Antonio, Arthur managed to stand, gritting his teeth at the pain shooting through his scapula. Swearing he grabbed his knife off the ground and sprinted into his room to collect his gun before sprinting after the albino, Antonio and Elizabeta not far behind, afraid to let Gilbert deal with whatever was happening downstairs by himself.
Ludwig was surrounded by a relatively small group of the infected. There were only three of them, but two more than Ludwig could safely handle at such a close proximity. Gilbert cursed as his eyes flicked towards the kitchen where more were streaming in through the kitchen door.
Turning his attention back to his brother, he shot at one, expertly splitting open its head and aimed to shoot at another, only for the gun to jam. "Gott verdammt!" He swore angrily, resorting to swinging the gun around and smacking the gnashing teethed, undead creature in the head with it to get it away.
Even without his gun, Gilbert didn't hesitate to leap to his brother's aid with a furious snarl he pulled a nasty looking hunting knife from a sheath at his side and rammed it up into the creature's skull just above the spine. Allowing the body to slump to the ground he turned to his brother and pulled him into a quick bone crushing hug. Blinking in surprise when his brother hugged him back surprisingly tightly instead of just tolerating his brother's hug barely catching the flicker of something he wasn't sure he liked in his brother's eyes. Taking it for fear of the situation, Gilbert ignored his gut feeling that something was horribly wrong in favor of scanning around the room for an escape route.
"Where did they come from? You know it doesn't matter, we need to go...right now." Gilbert ordered as Arthur killed another one of the creatures just as they crawled through the crushed kitchen door.
"The route to the damn cars is blocked!' Arthur shouted in panic his heart thundering in his chest, wincing when Antonio shoved a book shelf over in front of the door only to have the creatures shatter a window behind them. Backing away from the doomed window, the Spaniard came to stand beside Arthur, swinging his ax at an encroaching infected and grinning in satisfaction as its head came clean off with a sickening crunch of bone.
Elizabeta moved to Gilbert and Ludwig's side, frying pan in hand as she scanned for an escape route, her eyes settling on the hands frantically scratching through the air as they tried to get inside, moaning and screaming in hunger and desperation.
"The Back. Out the back. Let's go! They'll swarm the place soon. We have to get around the side of the house to the cars before they figure out there is more than one way in." Ludwig commanded, moving towards the back exit as Gilbert guarded his rear. "There isn't much time we need to move." He barked at the others when they hesitated. Moving to the back door Ludwig threw it open with a bang just as the infected poured into the room behind them growling and snarling as they lurched at the group.
Turning as the other's exited at a sprint Gilbert threw the back door closed and began leading them around the side of the house. "Hurry we can get to the cars while they're distracted inside." Gilbert hissed slamming his hunting knife into an infected's skull as it stumbled towards him through the yard.
Ludwig shoved Elizabeta out in front of him and so he could bring up the rear, glancing behind him nervously. There were so many... He shook of his concern and herded everyone forward. "Bruder. Do the cars have enough gas to get out of here, or do you need the keys for my car?" He shouted over the roar of the horde.
"We just got gas we're fine!" Gilbert insisted quietly leading the group forward towards the car at a slow trot. Ludwig just nodded and kept them moving forward. He looked perfectly fine, except for the brokenness in his eyes. That didn't matter though, nothing mattered but keeping everyone safe. The albino German lifted his gun, having traded it out with his fathers, and aimed at one of them. He felt only a faint satisfaction when it's head exploded from the shot and the body slumped forward, tripping the one behind it.
Elizabeta followed close behind Gilbert, looking scared and determined all at the same time. Suddenly her frying pan didn't feel as useful as it had been back when they were only fighting one zombie at a time. Now her arms were feeling fatigued her muscles straining with every hit that she landed on an infected. "Love... Gil there are so many... I don't know if we'll be able to..." She trailed off, biting her lip and having a death grip on her pan when she felt the handle start to slip in her hand.
"Gut, you all have to get out of here." Ludwig insisted quietly, not truly meaning for his brother to hear.
"You...as in us? Not you? *Gilbert snapped whirling on his brother the moment the words slipped from his lips. Looking shocked as he blasted open another one of the infected's skulls he tossed the keys to the truck to Elizabeta "We'll be fine." He insisted turning back to his brother. "We go together. We get out of here together. No one gets left behind today Ludwig...do you hear me? *He barked grabbing ahold of an infected's arm and hauling it into the knife waiting in his hand. Tossing it into another infected he began furiously hacking at the infected with a new determination. "If someone stays behind it'll be me damn it! I am not losing anymore family today Ludwig!" he roared furiously.
"Just keep moving forward. Stop trying to keep the weight of everyone on your shoulders before it kills you, gott verdammt!" Ludwig barked as he glared over at his brother.
Elizabeta's eyes flashed with renewed vigor at Gilbert's words and he smashed in the skull of a zombie with a terrifying expression on her face. "Over my dead body! Gilbert Beilschmidt don't you dare even think about staying behind!"
"God damn it...where did they all come from?!" Arthur yelped quietly, catching a glimpse of the massive size of the horde that was entering the house behind them. Shuddering, Arthur tightened his grip on his knife wishing that he could move his left arm without earning a scream of protest in return.
Antonio tugged Arthur forward when the man hesitated, tearing the man's eyes from behind them. "Don't look back. Just keep moving forward. Don't freak out on me, amor. We will get out of here." He promised, slashing at one of the infected that stumbled in their path with a growl.
"I…I'm fine love I promise. Do you have the keys to our car?" Arthur whispered, his hand reaching out to grab Antonio's for a brief moment tightening around his tan fingers for a minute before he pulled away to fight of an infected man with his good arm.
There were a few infected stumbling around outside, not following the horde but instead meandering aimlessly around, but they perked up when they spotted the survivors. Snarling and hissing they began to hobble towards them, their skin hanging off them in bloody tatters and their teeth blackened and coated in blood. "Disgusting..." Arthur grimaced looking green as he lifted up his gun awkwardly onto his shoulder and fired into one of their heads sending a splatter of blood and brains flying outwards. "Absolutely horrid." He gagged as he stumbled over the fallen bodies.
"Don't think about them as people. They are dead already, and nothing is going to change that. Breathe now and freak out later, si?" Antonio mumbled softly to Arthur. He pulled his keys from his pocket with a smile. "And si. I still have our keys." He said as the drew up to the cars
"I know...I know they aren't human but... " He shook his head as an infected child let out a pathetic mewl of hunger as it stumbled towards them down the street. Shuddering he forced himself forward unable to bear the sight any longer wincing when he heard a crack from Ludwig's gun that sent the small form crumbling to the ground. "Let's just go... please."
Nodding, Antonio reached the cars first trusting Arthur would keep them off of him as he unlocked the door. Trying to push the button to unlock the door, he found his hands were shaking too badly to find the button he needed in the dark, and fumbling with the keys he ended up dropping the keys with a gasp of agony. Instead of reaching to get them, he spun around to help fend the infected off.
"Lo siento!" He cried out to Arthur before lashing out a one of the infected as it drew too close.
Arthur swore as Antonio dropped the keys, fighting back mind-numbing terror he lurched forward as Antonio turned to fight off the horde. Fumbling around on the concrete under the car he snagged the silver objects and lifted them up, crying out in surprise as an infected snagged ahold of his wrist and attempted to pull his hand towards its gaping mouth. Shuddering he lurched forward and jammed the keys into the creature's eye killing it with a spurt of blood and gore.
Releasing a terrified groan, he staggered upwards and slammed his thumb onto the button unlocking it with a click and throwing the door open victoriously. Turning to Antonio, he snaked an arm around the man's waist hauling the Spaniard backwards into the car with him with a grunt of effort. Grabbing the door he slammed it shut behind them, his form still tangled with Antonio's as he lurched into the passenger seat.
"Drive!" He yelped thrusting the keys into Antonio's hand with a shudder.
Antonio's head banged painfully against the side of the car as he tried to right himself, but he quickly righted himself and shoved the keys into the ignition. Their car roared to life thunderously loud, causing the Spaniard to wince, knowing they were drawn to noise.
" Aren't we following them? I can't just..." He began shakily, but seeing Arthur's face, Antonio squared his shoulders and turned his eyes to the road, pulling out from in front of the house a bit too quickly, praying the others would follow him.
Gilbert didn't respond to his brother and Elizabeta's comment, watching him determinedly he reached their car and stood in front of Elizabeta as she unlocked the door and threw herself inside. "Ludwig let's go!" he roared blasting open the skull of an infected just as it tried to grab ahold of his arm. "Get in the car! Now!' he snarled firing madly into the slowly encroaching mass of the living dead. That many creatures could easily tip their car over, and he wanted to be out of there long before they could reach them.
Ludwig hesitated before getting in the car, but he knew his brother wouldn't leave without him. With an imperceptible sigh, he climbed into the back seat and shut the door.
"Go. Get out of here now!" The taller German commanded, eyeing the creatures while they drew ever closer to the car. Elizabeta shuddered in her seat, once again gripping the pan handle with white knuckles.
After he was sure that Ludwig was safe, Gilbert leapt into the driver's seat and pulled the keys from Elizabeta's shuddering hands. Starting the car with the rev of the engine he pulled out of the driveway with a screech a few moments after Antonio. Attempting to control his breathing as he ran over a few of the creatures with sickening pops, he sped off after the Spaniard his eyes narrowed onto the road as he shook furiously.
~X~
"Was the hell was that Ludwig?!" Gilbert snarled after a few minutes, his entire form shaking as he weaved expertly between parked cars.
"Bruder, stop yelling, Bitte... *Ludwig mumbled, sounding exhausted and drained as he stared out window. He leaned his head against the back of the seat, his breathing shuddery and his skin almost as pale as his brother's. Glancing up at the albino he scowled when he caught sight of two ruby eyes glancing out him angrily. "Was the hell was that? That was me trying to keep you alive. That is was that was." He said, blue eyes disappearing behind bruise colored eyelids.
"Ludwig I don't care why you did I just never want you to...Lud? Are you ok?" Gilbert's livid scolding cut off immediately when he glanced over at his brother and noticed the sudden lack of coloring in his brother's skin in the rearview mirror. "Are you...are you going to be sick? Can you hold it? I really can't stop here." He pointed out his mind automatically coming to the conclusion that his brother was suffering from some sort of stress or nausea from what he had just witnessed "Don't worry bruder, I'm not angry. It'll be ok...we got away, ja? Nothing to worry about." He encouraged with a small smile his hands shuddering gently around the wheel.
"Don't worry about me so much bruder... Just get out of town. I'll be fine... Until we can stop safely I'll be fine." Ludwig muttered with a weak smile. He prayed his words were true, though his health was quickly deteriorating. He clenched his hands together to keep them from shaking and focused on staying well. They weren't safe here! He just had to make it until they could stop...
Gilbert nodded grimly and turned his attention back to the road determined to reach safety so he could check his family for injury more thoroughly. "Ok... Just...tell me if something's wrong, ja?" He ordered, his voice barely a whisper. He could feel the lie in Ludwig's voice, but he couldn't decide why he would be lying if he was hurt or sick. Perhaps it really just was the stress? Gilbert sighed and sped up slightly to catch up with the two ahead of him hoping they would find a place to rest soon.
Ludwig almost felt more terrible for lying to his brother than anything else. He couldn't tell him the truth now though... Not until they got some place safe. That was his priority now. It wasn't like he'd be able to do much mo... No. No he wouldn't think about it. By this point his entire frame had started to tremble and an icy sweat had broken out over his too pale skin.
"Everything will turn out alright bruder, right?" He whispered quietly. Gilbert forced a smile onto his face as he glanced back at his brother, fighting to keep it on his face even when he spotted the sickly look on his brother's face.
"J...ja of course bruderchen! Everything will be just fine. we'll get somewhere safe, a military base or something, and we'll start over. Just you, Eliza, and me...that'll be nice, ja?" He assured the younger man reaching back to squeeze his younger brother's knee.
Hearing the boy speak, Elizabeta had a sinking feeling in her stomach, but wasn't sure why. She had stayed quiet so far, but the edge of town was in sight and she suddenly remembered a place to go.
"Gil... Get in front of Antonio and Arthur. You know the wooded area around towards the south end of town? There's a cabin there... You have to take quite a few dirt roads and such to get there, but it is about as remote of a place as you are going to get for now." She said in a soft voice, though a fierce light shown in her eyes.
Glancing at his wife, Gilbert grinned and nodded. "Danke Eliza." he sighed in relief, flashing his lights at Arthur and Antonio before speeding up and pulling out in front of the man's car, waving to show he was taking the lead. Instantly his mind focused onto the road and their destination, shoving all other potential problems and distractions from his mind.
It was how he coped with everything, when he lost his mother shortly after his brother was born he focused on raising Ludwig keeping his attention on the boy and nothing else. When he had worked two jobs on top of going to school when his father had problems paying the bills he focused on the smile he earned from his brother when he would come home after a long day at work or a small passing grin from Elizabeta...the girl who worked in the small coffee shop across from the autoshop where he was employed in.
Even when he was sure that the world was crumbling around him he would focus furiously onto the important things and ignore anything that he didn't need to worry about. He was afraid that if he let up, he would shatter, and the two people in the car with him needed him to be strong. Pulling down the roads as Elizabeta directed him, they slowly wound through the deepest parts of the forest and away from immediate danger
Ludwig didn't pay attention to what was going on around him, instead he focused and clinging to good memories. He thought of the happiest times of his life, anything that would distract him from the chilling terror that was welling up inside his chest.
Memories. Focus. He remembered the nights when his brother would play the flute. How beautiful the sound was, though he'd never openly say it. He wasn't supposed to like beautiful things after all. From there he thought about cooking with their father and felt the faintest urge to chuckle at his own OCD tendencies. Days he spent sitting with Feliciano talking about nothing.
He thought about being little... Gilbert protected him then. He thought about thunderstorms, and moving through the dark hallways so he could climb into bed with his older brother, and suddenly it wasn't him being held by his older brother as a child, it was him holding a sleeping Italian.
He had so much to be thankful for.
Ludwig felt the tear on his face long after it had slipped from his closed eyes. He had kept what remained of his family safe, and even some new friends. That was all that mattered.
"Drive to the south end love... There'll be a dirt road to the right. Follow it for a bit." Eliza said as they passed the other car. She frowned first t Gilbert and then at Ludwig, but made no comment on the increasingly depressed atmosphere filling the small confines of the car.
~X~
"Oh God...oh God...Oh God." Arthur whispered with a terrified shudder the moment Antonio started driving down the road. Catching the other's pulling out behind them he let out a small sigh of relief and leaned his forehead against Antonio's shoulder with a sob of relief. This was all too much...this moment of security that they found was enough to shock him afresh the minute he had managed to let his guard down. "We did it...we're ok." He whispered clinging onto Antonio desperately as he attempted to shut out the noise of crunching bone while Antonio careened over the infected who leapt out in front of them.
Antonio wrapped one arm around Arthur tightly. Driving was the last thing he wanted to be doing. He was shuddering badly and slipping into his own state of panic, but Arthur needed him to be strong, so he would try his best. He forced a smile to his face as his grip subconsciously tightened around Arthur.
"Si! We made it. We are ok. The others are too. It's ok amor, We're safe. We're fine, Shhh." He soothed, though his voice sounded as shaky as he felt.
"I know...I know it's ok." Arthur whispered kissing Antonio's cheek with a shudder and clenching his eyes shut. "Are you ok?" He asked softly his shoulder throbbing painfully now that he was checking himself over for injury.
Antonio smile gained a hint of actual warmth from the simple gesture, though he still felt ready to break. Was he ok? In theory he was fine, at least in a physical sense. "I'm alright. I'm ok. I think some of the worse of cuts on my shoulder reopened, and I have new bruises, but I'm fine. What about you? IS your shoulder alright?" He asked, not daring to take his eyes off the road. Not because he was afraid of running in to things, but because he was almost afraid of what Arthur might find in his eyes.
"I'm... "Arthur hesitated, his hand reaching up to touch his bruised shoulder with a wince. "Well...Elizabeta did a number on my shoulder." He admitted with a sigh not wanting to lie when there was no point in hiding that he was in pain from the man who would find out one way or another anyway "Other than that I'm fine. You didn't let them get close enough to hurt me." He explained his shuddering easing slightly as they pulled away from the small town.
"Mmm... I think there is an cold compress in the first aid kit. Once we find a safe place, we can ice your shouler, si? Is it just bruised really bad or do you think there is more damage we can't see?" The Spaniard asked, actually grateful to have something to get his mind off of the zombie, even if that meant dealing with an injury of Arthur's.
"A cold compress would be lovely." Arthur muttered pulling his shirt aside as Gilbert sped by to reveal the black, purple, and blue bruise coloring his shoulder blade.
In all honesty he he didn't know if it was broken or not. The skin was already a menagerie of different colored bruises, but he was no doctor for all he knew it was probably just a bruised muscle. He didn't need to worry Antonio, if it was a break there was nothing they could do anyway, not if the injury was on his shoulder.
"I...I think that I bruised the muscle, hell maybe even the damned bone, but I don't think that anything's broken." He promised grimacing as he pulled his shirt back over his shoulder before Antonio could look over at him. "Damn it, what were we saying about speaking to Gilbert about not getting hurt earlier?" He demanded with a small shaky smile as he attempted to comfort the man in any way he knew how while also changing the subject. "Perhaps we should just lock me in a nice cushioned room, I might be less likely to get myself hurt then." He chuckled humorlessly, glancing over at his boyfriend with a grin.
Antonio smiled a little more at the Englishman's attempt to joke, even letting out a quiet chuckle. "I don't think even a padded room would keep you completely safe, mi amor. Certainly make it harder for you to get hurt though. We might have to find a way to wrap it up. We'll have to look when we get to where ever it is they're leading us." He promised, relaxing further when it appeared the other car had a destination in mind*
"That sounds like a plan to me." Arthur muttered leaning back against the chair and glancing up at Antonio with a small sigh when he spotted the worry in Antonio's eyes. Reaching out slowly he squeezed the man's knee gently afraid that taking his hands away from the wheel could be dangerous. "We'll get patched up there, maybe actually get some sleep this time."
"You and I both need sleep badly." Antonio sighed in agreement. He would have taken Arthur's hand but his grip on the wheel was tight enough to make his knuckles stiff. He thought against it. What a day, and just one more place they had been driven from by the undead. He shivered as fear began to catch up with him, his never failing panic attack after the event slowly setting in. "M-Medicine too." He said after a minute, forcing the smile again and trying to busy his mind once more. "Medicine. We can see if there is something to... to help the pain. Si? Have you ever had to wrap a shoulder wound? I hearthatitisreallydifficultandthatittakespatiencce and…" He rambled as he started to speak faster until he wasn't even speaking English anymore, instead rapid fire Spanish spewed from his mouth, his eyes huge as he followed behind Gilbert. The only thing on his mind was a single fact: 'We almost died.'
"Antonio...Antonio calm...would you just...ANTHONY!" Arthur yelped slapping the man across the face sharply when he began to ramble. Looking up at him when the man looked shocked he looked down at his hand in surprise. ''I...I'm so sorry." He whispered looking ashamed for striking the man even if it didn't harm him per say. "I didn't mean...I just didn't know how to calm you...I'm so sorry Antonio, I didn't..." He rambled his face aghast with surprise at his own actions.
Antonio looked stunned. He wrenched one of his hands from the wheel and lifted it to his stinging cheek, keeping his eyes fixed forward. Here he was, messing up again... The panic surged around him, doubling in strength as it competed with itself. Zombies vs. his terror at upsetting Arthur. Instead of rambling though he just held it inside, keeping his teeth locked together against it and his eyes never strayed from the tail lights in front of him. He wasn't angry at all, maybe a little hurt, but not angry, and yet he couldn't form words.
And so you are all left with a really nasty cliff hanger... Not really it could be worse. Review! We like knowing what you all think :)