The flight was long and exhausting.
While it had only been an half an hour, America still felt like a good chunk of his life had been wasted away. The plane wasn't quiet, either, thanks to a crying baby and a few people coughing up a storm. The nation sighed as he pressed his face against the tiny window.
"Come on now, what's with that look, eh?" Canada smiled as he saw America's reflection.
"Nothing, 'eh,'" America mocked, causing Canada's smile to falter. The northern country decided it was best to leave America alone, and directed his attention to an older man's newspaper. The headline read: NEW DISEASE HITTING DENSELY POPULATED CITIES.
Canada, startled, squinted and leaned in to get a better look. The old man, noticing that he wasn't the only one reading, graciously offered his paper. Canada gladly took it from him and began to examine the article.
"What's that?" asked America upon noticing the newspaper.
"Some disease is spreading. Apparently it started in China… and it looks like it hit New York and Paris."
"When does it not start in China?" Canada's southern neighbor laughed.
"This is serious. People are dying, Alfred."
He stopped laughing. "How many?"
"Well, the article says about 50 people. But the date of this was… 2 days ago, so it could be higher."
"I'm sure the CDC has everything under control." America waved it off, leaning back into the chair and letting out a seemingly nonchalant sigh. But the coughing from a nearby passenger, which had suddenly gotten much louder, visibly unnerved him.
"Excuse me sir, would you like some water?" asked the flight attendant, but the man shook his head and continued coughing into his arm. America turned back to Canada, who gave him a worried smile.
"Ehm… I think I'm gonna call Arthur." America reached into his pocket for his cellphone. He fumbled with the dial pad, but managed to enter the number.
"Alfred?!" the voice said.
"Heeeeey Artie." America whispered quietly.
"Bloody hell, where are you?" The Englishman asked in a slightly panicked voice.
"Nice to see you too." America chuckled.
"Alfred, where are you? Are you on land? Are you-"
"Whoa there, what's with 20 questions? I swear I'm not doing anything suspicious-"
"Just bloody answer the question!" England's voice screamed through the phone. America was taken back slightly, his mouth open in surprise. Canada gave him an alarmed look.
"I-I'm on the plane still. What the hell was that for?"
Silence.
"Arthur? Hello?"
"My god. Alfred, you have to ge-" As if on cue, the phone cut out.
"Ah fuck, no service. Just my luck."
"Are you serious? Well, what did he say?" Canada asked, trembling a little.
"Dude, calm down! I'm sure it was nothing. He was probably just gonna yell at me cause we're running late and stuff."
"O-o-ok…" Canada said, nodding nervously.
"Come on man, here, let's play rock paper scissors." America grinned, grabbing the other's hand and forcing it into a fist.
"Ow! Alfred, now is not the time for-"
"Rock, paper, scissors!" America jerked his hand flat, while Canada kept his in a fist.
"I won!" America beamed. "Let's go again."
"America, please-"
"Rock, paper-"
Suddenly, a scream erupted inside the plane. Both of the nations whirled their heads around to see. The man who had been coughing violently before had just vomited blood all over the flight attendant. Canada covered his mouth in horror, while America quickly stood up and rushed over.
"Is there a doctor on board?!" America shouted, but there was no response but confused crying and shouting. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he looked back down at the man, unsure of what to do. The plane jerked abruptly downward, and he nearly lost his balance.
"What the-"
The plane continued its descent, forcing America to cling onto the seat for dear life.
"Alfred!" Canada desperately tried to reach him, but to no avail. Amidst all the screaming from the passengers, America gave his neighbor a smile.
Fuck.
"Ahhh, where is it?!" the short nation exclaimed.
"What? China, did you forget something on the plane?" a gentle voice questioned with a small smile.
"Russia, we have to go back!" China was about to make a break for the terminal but Russia quickly grabbed his hand.
"If we go back, England will yell at us. Mostly at me, and I'm really not in the mood for that. What are you missing anyway…?"
China swirled around and sniffled. "Mei Mei's present! The little pink panda charm!" China's lip trembled just thinking about it.
"Don't worry, Yao, we can get her another one."
"But it was special! I got it 75% off!" cried China.
Russia smiled apologetically at the smaller man, and placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. "There, there. You will survive," he stated matter-of-factly.
China remained solemn, though, sighing as he softly shook his head. Russia could hear him say something foreign under his breath, but didn't bother asking what it was.
"Well, you should try calling America to see if they took off yet."
"Yeah, I guess…" China said, taking out his phone. Out of nowhere a man ran straight into the unsuspecting Asian, sending him and his phone to the ground.
"Aiyah! Watch what you're doing!" China scolded, but the man said nothing, and continued running off behind them.
Russia lowered a hand down to help his comrade. "Are you alrigh- oh!"
China gave him a calculating look before Russia pointed to his shoulder.
"You're bleeding?" he managed to say, kneeling down beside the ebony-haired man.
"Huh?" China looked down his shirt, only to find no open wounds.
"That can't be. I'm perfectly fine. It must not be my blood…" muttered China, before jolting at an ear-piercing shriek that echoed throughout the airport. The man that had bumped into China earlier was now sinking his teeth into a young women's neck.
A Jiangshi! China humorously thought to himself, despite the fact he was being yanked violently by the Russian to get up. China could barely formulate any thoughts of what he had just seen, other than that he might have been in that woman's shoes if he had decided to go back to the terminal.
"Keep your head down!" China barely managed to make out Russia's voice among the hundreds of people around him, gunshots, and shattering glass.
"I don't understand what's going on… please help me…" The Asian nation looked down to see an old woman of his country, desperately trying to grab onto his ankle. Blood was dripping down from her mouth.
"I'm sorry, I don't…" Suddenly, heard the noise of something being squished, and his vision went black
It made him remember the time he made meatballs house at his house for Italy, who refused to eat anything from his kitchen. His stubbornness made Yao laugh. That was around 20 years ago, yet it still remained fresh in his memories.
He was pulled back into reality when he was pushed into a tight space. China found that his vision was no longer blocked, and saw a broom and a couple of cleaning materials. A janitor's closet, apparently.
"I'm sorry about that, Yao." China's sense of isolation was disrupted by Russia's tone, greatly disturbing the elder nation. "I didn't want you to see that."
"See what?" China asked, concerned. Russia merely casted his gaze to the ground, before lifting it back to the older nation's eyes.
"She was sick."
Russia looked down at his watch. It had only been about 40 minutes since chaos erupted inside the airport. Approximately 30 since he'd squashed a babushka's brains out. He looked over at his companion, his beloved Yao. The poor man was pale, with worry and terror plastered across his face. Russia placed an arm around his companion.
China sunk into the touch and sighed. "We can't stay here."
"Well, it has gotten pretty quiet out there…" Russia paused, and removed himself from China. Standing up, he gave his friend a look of "stay put or else," and peeked outside the door. Past the doorway was just as he had expected.
Dead bodies, most of which had been obliterated by bullets, were strewn about the floor. Overturned furniture and fallen soldiers were also lying about, yet strangely enough, there were no guns in sight. Russia tiptoed over, glass crunching beneath his feet. He knelt over and patted down a dead soldier in hopes of finding a weapon of some sort. To his delight, he found a dagger and a single hand grenade. Checking the around the area once more, he concluded that it was safe.
"China, the coast is clear, but prepare yourself. It's not pretty," said Russia.
China emerged from the closet, expecting the worst. He would have to thank Russia later for the warning after what he saw.
"O-oh... No… Nooo…" As he took in the gruesome image in front of him, it became more difficult to breathe. Sure, he had lived for thousands of years, but it never got any easier seeing a dead body, especially if there were more than one. His stomach churned as he cast his gaze over to what was left of the woman he had seen only an hour ago. He clutched his chest, stepping back only to hit another dead body. Only this time its face was completely gone. China quickly covered his mouth to keep bile from escaping, but to no avail. Russia grimaced as he heard the poor nation vomit. He hurried to China's side and pulled a few strands of hair out of the other's face.
"Better?"
"Yeah…" China managed to say, wiping stray fluid away with his sleeve. He looked back up at his northern neighbor and gave him a sad smile. "Sorry."
"Do not worry, it is better to let out than in." Russia stated, causing China to chuckle at his poor attempt at an idiom. "We should keep moving forward though, can't stay here for long."
The Asian nation quickly nodded at Russia's statement before coming to a realization.
"America and Canada! Oh, we can't leave without them!" exclaimed China as panic surged through him.
"They are probably landing somewhere else, there should be nothing to worry about. It is best we leave no-"
"No, I'm not leaving. We're waiting here for them, and that's that," the shorter of the two declared.
Russia gave China a brief glare before sighing and rubbing his temples in annoyance.
"Ivan, I know you don't like Alfred, but I'm not leaving without those two. England and France are depending on us to bring them, and if we don't do it now we might not ever find them again. I don't want to be responsible for that."
Russia crossed his arms. "Fine, but you take this." The northern nation handed China the hand grenade. "I would expect that you know how to use it?"
China chuckled softly, before turning around to stride ahead.
"Just hope I don't blow you up."