"Hey guys! Look at this."
Everyone looked to the corner. America's "hero" smile returned accompanied by a hand pointing at an open hatchet.
"What is it?"
"Take a look, Britain!"
"Bouche bée!" France dug into the opening. He came out beaming with Krag-Jørgensen rifles in each hand. "There are plenty more inside!"
Prussia quickly scrambled into the compartment together with an irate Britain, a chortling America, and an annoyed Germany. They made quite a noise in there. Had there been a light bulb installed in the arms compartment, they would have stumbled onto a powerful radio that lay buried in a heap of old guns—mainly pre-World War bolt-action rifles and machine guns.
"It's our best bet."
"But the place might probably be crawling with Nazi zombies!"
"Sweet! Nazi zombies!" That made Germany grimace.
"America, please."
"But how do we know it's still there?"
"I just came from there," Norway reasoned. "We were just finished investigating the find when General Winter stuck."
China emerged from the compartment.
"Japan!"
The swordsman turned.
"Take this," China offered. Japan hesitantly accepted the gun. "We may not be fond of it but it will come in handy just in case."
Norway stretched his thumb. One. Two. Three.
Germany pushed the door open. The nations poured out of the bunker in single file. Norway led the team, followed by Prussia, America, Britain, France, China, Japan, and Germany who made no effort to seal the shelter. They wouldn't be coming back, anyway.
The blizzard was harsher than ever. Trudging through snow as high as their waists slowed them down greatly. They had not expected this.
Visibility dropped to a radius of a few meters. Norway's unofficial task of being point man irritated him despite being accustomed to snowy seasons. This one was obviously different than the rest.
The first sign of trouble appeared when the stream froze over.
"Boo."
The sound drew a lady's screech from France whose gun flew in the air. The group was suddenly surrounded by Nordic Vikings. Or what was left of them.
"Open fire!" was Germany's order. Rifles lit up and cackled.
Prussia was the only one armed with modern weaponry but had limited ammunition for it. Half of his magazine clips were used up on their combatants. "It wouldn't be long until I'm going to need a Madsen!"
"Conserve ammunition, everyone!" Germany backed up to Norway. "How far to Trondheim?"
"A long way to go!"
"Scheisse!" Germany thrust his rifle forward, the bayonet stabbing deep into the chest of a skeletal minion just as it raised its axe. "Cover me, I'm reloading!" A mass of bones piled at Germany's feet as he yanked back the Krag-Jørgensen. He opened the chamber. Mein Gott! Where are speed loaders when you need them?
America tumbled back after unloading a full clip. More rose in the distance. "How many more of these guys are out here!"
"This way!" Japan pointed. The remains of a wooden sign board stuck out of the snow.
"We have to cross this creek!" China grunted as he slammed the butt of his rifle on a laughing skull. "It's frozen."
"As long as it does not give in to our weight, we're good to go!" Germany hollered.
They could have just hopped over but the thickness of the snow made it difficult for one to get a solid footing on the edge. France tried and ended up in the freezing temperatures of the stream whining loudly until Prussia dragged him out after crossing over at the cost of several magazines.
"Keep moving, everyone!"
Crushing snow, gunfire, and the whistle of the strong wind were the noise of the area. The group's assailants ranged from ancient nomads to the recently deceased. A little girl in a ripped coat stood in their way cooing them as they came closer. The sound of her voice was as nerve-wracking as Russia's remarks of invasion. It took a minute for Norway to approach the child and plunge his bayonet into her heart. That caught everybody's attention.
"She's not the only one," he cryptically warned.
"Why are you dummkopfs just standing there! Move, verdammt!" Don't just leave me guarding your arschen!
The line of nations broke through the trance. The girl's hand burst from the snow and tightened its grip on Britain's leg. There was a scream and rapid fire. "These bloody wankers never stop!"
They followed Norway through the trees and eventually to where a road used to be. The street lamps stuck out like Popsicle sticks.
"This way!"
"How far is it?" Britain panted, slapping the chamber shut on his rifle.
"Less than a mile!"
A roadblock composed of overturned vehicles frustrated their escape. Prussia angrily slammed his hands hard against the belly of a sedan, attempting to push it over. He was joined by the other nations who succeeded in tilting it by a few angles.
"We'll have to go around it," China sighed.
"Behind you!"
Japan was quick to react. There was swift movement and the reanimated police officer was headless. More groans were heard from behind the mass of cars.
"I don't like this."
"Well, we don't have enough firepower to blast through this. And if we go around it, there's bound to be more of General Winter's goons lingering about!" Britain had to yell in order to be audible. The blizzard was becoming as deafening as overhead speakerphone sirens.
"Dude! Try climbing over it!" Well, America finally found a way through. In fact, he was already on the other side. Britain was the last to fall off the wreckage. Bloody git.
"Just follow the road and we're there!"
Pushing through the snow was hard enough. Fighting for one's life while doing so adds to the difficulty. Doing all these things while in the middle of a massive whiteout greatly worsened the situation. How badly could this get?
"Merde! I'm fresh out!"
"So am I!"
"Damn it, I'm down to my last clip!"
"Dude! These things work like baseball bats! Woohoo!"
"Is it me or did we miss someone?"
"It's definitely you, Britain."
"Don't worry," Norway assured. "Canada is with me."
Matthew seemed to appear out of Norway's back with his impish smile holding Kumajiro in one hand and a rifle in the other. "I'm okay."
"Dude! You scared the crap out of me, man."
"Sorry, America."
The U-boat was like a preserved corpse inside a concrete sarcophagus. It was amazing how it didn't deteriorate that much over time. The faded numbers on the conning tower glared back at them like a pair of bloodshot eyes.
Britain took the time to breathe the confined air of the sub-pen. "I have to admit, you guys rea—"
Prussia cut him off from atop the sail. "Yeah! We're awesome! Check out our technological awesomeness!"
The tea-drinker huffed. "… you are really irritating, do you know that?"
Germany appeared beside his brother. He gave the thumbs up. "Everything is fine. The ship is still in-tact and the engines are still operational."
"Alright! I miss the heat waves back home and my burgers!"
The opening of the bay doors produced a grating noise that everyone wanted to hear. Metal grating against metal became more pleasing to the ears after prolonged hours against violent whirring. It was followed later by howls and screeches.
"Damn it! They're still out there."
Several emaciated hands burst out of the freezing waters and grabbed hold of the U-boat's curved hull. Rattles of gun burst echoed within the sub-pen.
"Everyone on board, now!"
Denmark and Norway did not hide their reluctance to follow the other nations onto the floating vessel. Much to their surprise, the two Nordic states detached the gangplank themselves.
"Hey, wait! What are you guys doing!" Their faces showed discomfort.
Germany held Britain back. He, too, had a dismal expression. "No… no. We can't just leave them here!"
Denmark waved at them, plastering a smile on his face. "Don't worry about us! We can hold out on our own." Norway nodded in agreement. Behind them, a group of ragged men dragged themselves to the vessel.
"Messieurs, you cannot be serious!" France exclaimed.
"You have to come with us!" Japan called.
Denmark shrugged. "Well, we just can't leave home, right?" Norway turned around and emptied the last of his ammunition.
"Denmark," Germany sighed. Don't be a dummkopf!
"Besides! I'm the 'King of Scandinavia' and Norway's part of the big family." Denmark's arm collapsed around Norway's neck dragging him closer to the heavy drinker.
"But still…" He found no more reason to argue. Somehow, he was refreshed by the memory of the flags that stood waving atop battlefields. That made him smile. "Alright, you take care then!"
Denmark waved back smiling cheerily. Norway was as calm as ever. The two shrunk to a pair of dots that immediately were swarmed by more dots inside a concrete matchbox as the U-boat pushed through mangled bodies and the freezing waters of DORA 1.
An hour later, Germany picked up the receiver from the radio in the submarine's sonar compartment.
"Denmark, this is Germany. Do you copy, over?"
There was nothing but static. Already, Prussia was behind him. Germany flipped on the switch on the receiver for the second time.
"Denmark, this is Germany. Do you copy, over?"
Again, there was only static. Germany repeated his broadcast three more times, effectively acquiring the attention of Britain, France, and China. He received a tap on his shoulder by Prussia just as he was about to issue the same call for the sixth time. He sighed. Heads bowed.
The present nations were silent.