Chapter 22
Warm winds blew across the valley, snaking through the houses and sending light howls across the land. Finland sat at a desk staring out the window. A storm is coming soon, he noted. We will have to go underground. He stood. "Louhi, Avar. Come in." He called to the two servants standing outside his room. The man and woman walked in.
"What is it?" They asked in unison. The two had been so helpful. They had always been servants for Finland. They were some of the few that knew about how nations were in human form, so when they survived the war alongside him, he kept them to make sure his miniature nation would survive.
"I need you to collect Ludwig, Lovino, and Natalia. Bring them here, then go tell the village to get into the safe houses. A storm is forming, and I believe it will be upon us within hours. Create a group to bring all the provisions into the cellars. Then call in the hunting group and make sure the basements are sealed. We cannot have any water leaking in. It is your time now," Finland instructed. They nodded and ran out. Within minutes, the three ex-nations were standing in his doorway. "Good. You came quick. A storm is approaching, and I need you to make sure you are packed. This is the test. We will travel through this storm and get you to Norway. I don't know if he is alive or not, but I know his magic is still protecting his capital. You will be able to make homes there and avoid the rising waters for years, at least. After I take you there, I will come back to my home and continue leading. Avar and Louhi will watch over while I am gone. They know the drill. Now hurry and pack your bags. Meet me outside this building in forty-five minutes." The three ex-nations nodded and rushed out of the room. They did not have many possessions to pack, but Finland had given them a few items to help them survive in the wild. Lovino had recovered quickly, and in the month since he had arrived with the other two, his health had peaked more than any of the ex-nation's had since the war and the fall of their nations. Finland began to wonder if maybe Lovino was meant to go back home instead of to Norway.
Lovino began to pack his bags. He had only two extra pairs of clothing, some hunting knives, a gun, and a few protein bars. He shoved them in a sack he created from his pillow case then walked outside. Ludwig and Natalia were still packing, but Finland was already outside, watching through the darkening sky at his people as they hurried to prepare the village for the storm.
"We haven't had one in months. The last one tore up many of the homes, and it took weeks to repair the damage. The storms before that were not as strong, but each one builds. I am afraid this one will be worse," Finland commented when he heard the Italian approaching.
Lovino glared at Finland, "Then why are we travelling through this?"
"It is a test of strength. We should all be able to make it. If we do not, then humanity has no chance of surviving. If we do, it is a good sign for our people. Within a generation, the world might start balancing itself, and wildlife will emerge once again. The oceans will clear into living environments, and the icecaps will reform. Continents might move, and a new order of animalia will evolve from the dying ones."
"And we test this by walking through a storm. What kind of crazy are you?" Lovino snapped. "Some of us are ex-nations! We don't have the strength to do that!"
"You have more strength than the average human, Lovino. You did not heal like a human would. At this point in the game, a human might have died from the wounds inflicted upon you. Without technology, they would have given into infection. You did not. You are strong."
"I am lucky."
"You have some nation in you still. Your people might have hope, Lovino. Romano Italia…" Finland looked to the sky. Clouds were swelling in a greenish gray mass, and rain speckled the horizon. Thunder boomed in the distance, and wind howled at the village as it swept through the buildings and lamp posts. The two men shivered even though the air was warm and sticky. The rain would reach them within minutes. Ludwig and Natalia were not out yet, but Finland's people were almost all tucked away beneath ground.
"If we are lucky, then we will be back around the time my people will be rising above ground. They stay there for over a week to make sure everything dries and the structures are stable enough to climb through. We also cannot hear the storm from inside, so we make sure it has passed by staying hidden for a long time," Finland explained.
Lovino nodded. "So you plan to be back in a week. How long does it take to walk?"
"I'll tell you in a minute. Ludwig and Natalia are coming now." Lovino looked up and saw the two ex-nations walk out of the nearest building with their pillowcase bags in hand. Ludwig had sewn straps to his and slung it over his shoulders like a backpack. When the two were close enough, Finland began to explain the journey. "It will take several days to walk. If it were not storming, we could take my boat across the bay, but since the weather isn't looking too good for us, we will take the long route across land. It is much longer than it used to be because of the water levels, but as long as we constantly travel and sleep as little as possible, we should get there within a few days. We will have to travel through some Swedish territory." Finland paused for a long moment. "The terrain isn't too good there. We will have to be very careful when travelling across. There are wild creatures out there that could hurt us," he fiddled with his clothing, then looked back up with a big smile, the one sign so far that Finland was still in there, which came to a relief for everyone. The man had been so out of character the whole time they were visiting.
War does that to you… Lovino reminded himself. Then he said, "Right then. Shall we go? We can stay ahead of the storm at least for a few minutes."
"Yes, we can." Finland agreed, and the group headed out. For the first thirty minutes, the storm just called out from behind them, but before the first hour was up, rain had grabbed at the group and soaked them through. Had they been human, the group would have had to stop, but Finland reminded them of their former glories and ushered them onward. For hours the group battled through the rain and fought against the wind that pushed at them from every direction. It pushed and it pulled and it forced them to hunker over. The ground turned into slush, and the nations kept slipping over one another and falling in the mud. They could barely see one another through the storm, even though they were standing only feet apart.
"Keep going! We must walk another six hours today before we stop. There are some hideouts nearby that we can hide in. After this, it'll take another day or two of constant walking and no sleeping to get to the top. Then we can turn around and head south through Sweden and into Norway. We are faster than humans when we want to be, and we will have to utilize that if we are going to make it in a week instead of two. And that is one week of walking and no sleeping. Tonight we will rest and eat provisions, and then we will not be able to stop again until we reach Sweden or even Norway, depending on the weather and how dangerous the land is at the time of our passing through."
Everyone groaned, but heaved on. The winds had changed direction now, and they were actually pushing the nations forward, often sending them tumbling but also raising their speed so that they were making progress more quickly.
Hours passed, and the rain battered them harder and harder. Natalia, now free to be Belarus again, began scratching at her arms. Her skin tingled and slowly began to burn as the rain water slapped against it. "Finland!" she called out. "I think the rain has chemicals in it. It is burning my skin!"
Finland whirled around, and Belarus caught a look at his face through the darkness. The tender skin was red and blotchy, and it swelled around the eyes and cheeks. She guessed her skin was like that too, because Finland's puffy eyes opened as wide as he could, and his mouth gaped in surprise. "We will need to stop in the nearest shelter we can find and make some protection gear. Maybe we can find an Ikea or abandoned store." Finland broke out into a run, and the other three ex-nations followed.
Two hours later, they found an old Ikea building and took shelter there. Some of the roof had caved in, but enough of the building still covered them from the rain. Finland hurriedly pulled out his own sack and handed out some cream.
"Rub this all over your skin. It should help the burning. Lovino, you can help me look for supplies that can cover our skin when we head back out. We can stay for a couple hours and sleep, but we need to move on quickly. This resting time is only to make sure our health is not in danger." As Finland finished speaking, the building rattled from a huge gust of wind. Rain droplets fell into the building from different entry points, and shelves creaked. The two men searched the aisles for coverings, but their findings were small.
Lovino found a mosquito netting sheet, but by the feel of it, the netting would not protect them long. He cast it aside and rummaged through another shelf, only to find a few scraps of plastic, nothing that would actually cover a person.
Finland, on the other hand, discovered some plastic sheets and oven mitts that were lined with an impenetrable material on the insides. He pulled together some netting and created a face mask out of it. Of course, that meant their faces would still be vulnerable, but he hoped it would help some and that they could still breathe when plastic would not allow that necessity. He met up with Lovino a few minutes later and they shared their findings. Lovino had finally found some sheets and plastic bubble wrap that was mostly unpopped. Together, they combined items to create a coat for everyone, leaving the netting for face and feet covering. Lovino found several pairs of shoes to change into, along with some moth eaten socks. They brought everything to Ludwig and Belarus, and the group changed into the armor. Their clothes, which had been carefully wrapped in plastic were still dry, so everyone put dry clothing on. After a few minutes, everyone was ready again.
"Thirty minutes to rest," Finland ordered, and everyone took that thirty minutes of sleep and food gratefully. When the time was up, they headed back out into the storm, each feeling a little more comfortable as the burn in their skin had diminished.
