Special thanks to MeanGreenAubergine for the 400th review. 500 reviews is the next goal, I'm totally going for it! WOO!
SUPER AWESOME thank you bombayxprodigy for the epic Beta! If you're not too busy with school crap your services may be asked for again!
Thank you xxassassinxx18, Her Diary, crackberries, Chocola Emo Shizzle, Ayla The Librarian, CaCoPhOnY Of ScReAmS, DeathDeparture, ninjafox369, ColorfulHeart, Cruz-Hime, HappeDaez, Ember, TheFirstDarkblood, Lately,XxAlysxX, AoiTatsu, XxTehSparklepirexX, Italiangurlinamessedupworld, fan girl 666, Meeve and o-Vii-o for the reviews.
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Though none of the three teens would admit it aloud, they all knew they were lost. Truthfully they were all kind of depending on Feliks to guide them back home, as he shopped in Toronto so much he basically knew it like the back of his hand. Matthew, Ludwig and Feliciano, however, could all count the number of times they've been to the city on one hand.
Even so, they were all still a bit embarrassed to find themselves lost, especially when all they had to do was find a path to the subway. After they hit the subway, the way back to the train, then home was rather straight forward. Unfortunately about an hour of walking later, they hadn't been able to locate a way to the subway. This was probably due to the fact that they were all a bit directionally challenged.
This would also probably explain how they managed to find themselves wondering around a street that resembled a back alley more than a street.
"Maybe we should turn back..." Matthew finally said after a few minutes of tense silence. Unlike the other streets, this was the first one where they couldn't see anyone else walking as well. The random flickering street light just in front of them didn't help with the creepiness either.
As if the slowly emerging stars above weren't enough, Ludwig looked at the time on his phone to see just how late is was. "Yeah...we should head back and ask someone where we can find the subway..."
A loud noise caused the three of them to jump and look around to find the source of the noise. Nothing.
With the want to get off the street rapidly increasing, Feliciano pointed to an alleyway that was just a bit ahead of them.
"I-I think we can get back faster if we go through here!" He said and the males quickly entered the area.
The alleyway was almost too spacious to be called an alleyway. It was large enough to allow two cars to pass each other, though they would probably have scratch marks at the end of it. The only light source—other than the flickering lamppost from the street they just escaped—was from a third story window to the right that still had its lights on. Though judging from the lack of shadows, no one appeared to be inside.
Everyone wordlessly sped up their pace, wanting to get out of the sketchy place as soon as they could. They were nearly clear of the alley way when suddenly Matthew was hit with familiarity so hard he actually gasped and stopped walking. Looking around wildly, his eyes rested on the fire escape that was attached to a seemingly abandoned apartment building. What the heck... what was it about this fire escape that drew him to it? He walked until he was right under the ladder he needed to extend so that he could climb up the escape.
"Matteo?"
Ignoring the call of his name, Matthew jumped up and grabbed onto the ladder. With the help of gravity on his side, the ladder extended until it stopped just above the ground.
"Matthew!"
He looked up to see Ludwig and Feliciano just behind the ladder, giving him confused looks.
"What are you doing?" Ludwig asked.
"I...I don't know." Matthew answered honestly and, though he had no intention of climbing it, placed a hand on the ladder. "This...this is broken."
Even more confused, Ludwig gave the ladder a careful look over. "It looks fine to me."
Even Matthew was confused by how he knew this, but either way he voiced his thoughts. "If you try climbing it the extension will break off." Stepping to the side he gestured for the others to step back, which they did, and he tugged harshly on the ladder. Sure enough, the extension broke off and fell to the ground, creating a dull echo in the large space.
"...Matteo?"
Matthew looked at the Italian to show he was listening.
"How did you know that? Did you live here?"
Looking up at the building again, Matthew couldn't help but shake the familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach, but his mind drew a blank. "I..."
The loud noise from before was heard once more, though this time closer. Instantly the teens were able to identify just what the noise was.
A gunshot.
The trio was frozen in place as screeching tires accompanied more shots. The sounds echoed against the brick walls around them and, to their horror, grew louder as they grew closer. And closer. And closer. And clos—
"GET DOWN!"
Matthew's glasses flew off his nose as he fell to the ground, pain shooting up his arm as it hit the fallen ladder. He squeezed his eyes shut but the pain was immediately forgotten when the gunshots reached a crescendo, sounding as if they were right on top of him. He remained down as the cars roared by and thanked whatever god was out there as the noise grew silent and the cars drove away. Matthew lay there breathing heavily, adrenaline coursing through his body, his heart thumping so hard he thought it would jump out of his chest.
"I-Is everyone okay?" Matthew found himself calling, even before he worked up the courage to open his eyes. For a moment the only thing that responded was silence, and immediately his mind imagined the worst.
"...Sì..."
Matthew eyes shot open meeting darkened blurs. A spark of what promised to be the start of a headache being felt in his mind, Matthew blindly reached for his glasses. When his hand contacted with the familiar object, he promptly placed them back on his face, welcoming the sudden clarity.
"...Ludwig?"
Matthew froze.
No.
No.
This couldn't be...This wasn't...
Matthew's body moved by its self as he pushed himself up. It felt like he was outside of himself, watching as he turned around to lay eyes on the other two teens. Find Feliciano knelled in front of Ludwig, tears silently falling from his cheeks. Find Ludwig leaning against the building, clutching onto his side, blood flowing through his fingers.
He had been shot.
The realization hit Matthew so hard that he found himself unable to move. Unable to think, unable to blink. The only thing he could do was stare as the German desperately tried to keep the crimson liquid inside of him, his face screwed up in pain.
"LUDWIG!"
The shout caused Matthew to stumble forward, as if it had broken him from some kind of trance. Reaching forward, Feliciano grabbed onto Ludwig's legs, his eyes wide in fear.
"No! NO! You can't do this! I-I, I can't! I can't be without you! I won't live without you!"
"...Ambulance..." Ludwig croaked out, his voice dry and rough. "Call for...help..."
Still feeling as if his body didn't belong to him, Matthew pulled out his cellphone and quickly dialled nine one one. As the phone rang he tried not to listen to Ludwig as he continued to talk, but he couldn't help but hear it.
"Feli...I don't want to di—."
"Don't say that!" Feliciano interrupted, more tears streaming down his face as his grip tightened. "Don't. Say. That! You're not going to die! I won't let you!"
"Nine one one emergency what is the nature of your call?"
It took a a few tries before Matthew could string together a sentence. "M-M-My friend has been shot! Pl-Please! I need an ambulance!"
"Please calm down sir. What street are you on?"
Matthew immediately gave out the street, far too shocked to wonder how he knew the street name in the first place. As soon as he gave out the information the phone fell from his shaking hands and crashed on the ground, the battery popping out and effectively ending the call. He cussed quite loudly before he knelled down to pick up the two pieces. It took him a while to put it back together, with his hands fumbling the way they were. Matthew flipped it over to to redial the number, only to curse again when he found the screen cracked in two. The thought that the phone would still work even with the screen gone didn't even cross his mind before he gave up on redialling nine one one.
"Matteo!" His head snapped up to Feliciano at his name. "Wha...What should we do?"
Matthew's mind suddenly found himself back at the CPR course he was forced to take back in grade nine, much to his annoyance. How the hell was that going to help? Ludwig wasn't drowning he was fucking...he was shot!
"I...um, lay him down!" Matthew found himself saying instead.
Feliciano nodded, and he looked back at Ludwig. "W-We're going to lay you down, okay?"
"..."
"Ludwig!"
Ludwig's eyes fluttered open, his eyes glazed with pain as he tried to focus on the Italian. He didn't look good, not at all. His face had taken on a greenish tinge and his skin was losing its colour. "I...feel..." Was all he chocked out before his head fell back hitting the brick wall behind him.
"Ludwig?" Not getting an answer, Feliciano grabbed onto the blond's shoulders and shook him. "LUDWIG!"
"Stop!" Matthew yelled, grabbing the Italian's wrist. He wanted to grab both of them, but for some reason his left hand seemed unwilling of leaving go of the useless cellphone. "It's the blood! He's, he's bleeding too much! W-We need to s-stop the bleeding!"
Feliciano looked at the Canadian, the fear so evident in his eyes that Matthew didn't have to use his ability to know he was afraid. Hell he was too, he honestly didn't even know how he was still conscious.
"...I don't want him to die." Feliciano hiccoughed, and Matthew could feel him shaking. "I don't know what I'd do without him. I can't...I can't...Lovino...can..."
"We need to lay him down." Matthew interrupted, amazed at how he could keep his voice so steady. It was filled with uncertainty and fear, but it was steady. "It should make him bleed less."
Feliciano nodded, the tears still falling down his cheeks as he did what he was told. Together they moved the German so that he was laying down on his back.
"A-And cover the wound." Matthew further commanded, holding onto his broken cellphone as if his own life depended on it. Feliciano removed Ludwig's hands from the wound before he placed his own on top of it, desperately trying to stop the flow of blood as he continued to sob.
"I'm sorry, Ludwig...I'm so sorry. I'm not Lovino, I can't heal you. I can't...he can...If only he was...if only I was..."
A pained gasp filled the night air and Feliciano abruptly stared up at the stars above him, his eyes wide. He opened his mouth as if to scream, but no sound came out.
"Feliciano?" Matthew cried, the horror in his chest only increasing as he watched Feliciano's body jerk and convulse, though never did his hands leave Ludwig. What the hell was going on? What was Feliciano doing? He...he wasn't having some kind of seizure was he? He couldn't do that, not now! Matthew needed him! He couldn't do this on his own!
Wait...wait what was...Feliciano...he's bleeding! But how...why? But then Matthew realized something that nearly made his heart give out. Feliciano was starting to bleed in the exact same place as Ludwig's wound. As more blood poured out him, less blood was coming out of Ludwig's body.
He was...he was taking away Ludwig's wound...and putting it onto himself.
This...no...he had to stop this! If this continued, Feliciano would be the one that could...that would...
It wasn't until Matthew felt his hand wrap around the Italian's bare skin did he realize his mistake.
Immediately Feliciano fainted right on top of him and, extremely panicked, Matthew pushed him off and stood, stumbling away from the two injured figures. No...he registered him! No! He, he didn't mean to do that! He didn't mean to do...he didn't want to be alone. He...He couldn't do this alone!
"Please!" He yelled, even though he knew it was useless. There was no one around, no one to hear his plea. Surly if they were they would have come by now...right? A sob escaped him and he clutched the cellphone harder as tears finally ran down his face. "Help me...I can't do this by myself..."
"M've."
A flash of yellow. Red and blue. Shouting. Blurs of colour. White. A voice.
"Ev'rything's g'in' ta be 'kay."
Black.