Yay, I'm scaring people ^0^
I hate to admit it, England thought as he examined his leg, But my ankle really does feel better...I'm probably going to have to thank the damn frog again when he comes back...He sighed sadly. Japan...America...and everyone else...I wonder what they're all doing right now...Are they...are they okay?
He got up from his bed. Thinking about things like that would just make him depressed. Maybe he could just look around again while waiting for France to come back?
England shivered slightly. He didn't really want to be left alone in this kind of place. And there was something about this room...
Maybe I can just wait for France outside...England thought nervously as he walked towards the infirmary door. He pulled at it firmly.
It was locked.
"Wait...why is it...?" England inspected the door carefully.
There was no visible bolt keeping the door closed, or any sign that it had been locked at all.
"If it's not locked then why won't it open?" He tried pulling the door open harder, but nothing happened.
Suddenly, a high pitched giggling filled the room.
A...A child? England stepped away from the door and looked around wildly. He was alone.
But the laughter still continued.
"Who's there?" England wanted to sound fearless, but his voice was shaking. The childish cackling went on for a few more seconds before stopping completely.
The sudden silence worried England more than the laugher had.
He walked around the room cautiously. What the hell was taking France so long? Unless...
No, he couldn't think like that. France...France was probably just a little lost, or...
England saw the 'wash your hands' poster out of the corner of his eye. Except it didn't say that anymore.
'Wash the blood with soap'
The Brit whimpered, immediately cursing himself for it. It was all just some trick! Any moment, America or France was going to jump out and yell that the whole thing had just been a joke, and that he was so stupid for actually believing it...
He wished, with all of his heart, for that to be true.
The laughter started again. England gasped and clutched his head tightly. Why did he suddenly have such a headache? His ears were ringing...
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" England yelled. He was going to kick that bloody door down if he had to!
The door.
England blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
The door was covered in countless strands of black hair, forcing the door shut.
.He stepped back from it in shock. "How…? Why...?"
The lights in the room flickered before turning off. "Wh...what now?" England asked weakly.
"Have you come to find me...?"
England spun around as the giggling started again. Who was...?
The shadow. The same shadow that he and France saw earlier hovered in front of him. It seemed to be staring at him intently.
"W-what...?" England tried stepping away from it, but tripped over a loose floorboard. The thing loomed closer.
England shrieked as he tried to scramble to his feet. I need to run! He thought as he sprinted to the door.
He pulled at the hair that was rooting the door in place hopelessly. Where did all of the hair come from, anyway?
"France! Open the door! America! Someone!" He yelled, hitting the door as hard as he could. England looked over his shoulder desperately. The shadow was coming closer...
Wait, the matches! He pulled out the small box he had picked up earlier from his pocket. Maybe he could burn the hair?
Shakily, he struck a matchstick against the box.
It broke in two.
England sobbed as he attempted pulling out another matchstick. Calm down, calm down! He tried to steady his hand as he struck the matchstick. This time a small flame appeared. The Brit held his breath as he put the lit matchstick to the hair.
But the fire was too small to do any damage.
He stared at the matchsticks. If the flame was too weak, then how...? England gasped. Hadn't there been a bottle of rubbing alcohol in the medicine cabinet? Maybe he could...
But the medicine cabinet was on the other side of the room! And the shadow was nearly...No, this was his only chance. He had to try! The thing was slow, so he should be able to outrun it...
He jumped away from the door just as the shadow was about to reach him. England managed to stumble to the cabinet and grabbed the bottle tightly.
Please work! he prayed silently. All he had to do was run around the other side of the room to avoid the shadow. He was going to-!
There was a low groan, and the floorboards in front of him collapsed. He stared at the empty space in shock. That meant that the only way to the door was-
England cried out as something black wrapped around his waist. The shadow! He struggled, but more of the darkness started to bind his arms and legs, pulling him closer to the shadow.
No! He tried to yell, but the shadow filled his mouth the moment it opened. England choked and gagged, slowly losing the energy to fight back. The British nation closed his eyes as he felt himself start to lose consciousness. He couldn't breathe, he was going to die! He-!
"Angleterre!" England's eyes snapped open "You have to fight back!"
"Come on, Iggy! You never give up this easily!"
France...and America? England thought numbly. Why can I hear them?
He clutched the bottle of rubbing alcohol tighter as he felt a surge of determination. That's right...When France comes back, we're going to find America and the others...I can't die here!
England lashed out, trying to break free. "Let go of me!" He yelled, feeling the shadow's grip loosen. "Let go!" He gave a final push, and this time the shadow left him completely. He was free!
The Brit coughed and spluttered in relief, somehow managing to unscrew the lid off the bottle. England tipped the contents over the hair binding the door, until it was completely doused.
Please... He prayed again as he struck another match. It lit with a small flame. Please work... He put the match to the hair, and this time the hair lit up completely with a large fire. The hair seemed to harden before falling away.
He slammed himself against the door, almost crying with happiness as it opened.
England collapsed into the hallway, panting heavily. He stiffened and turned around; expecting the shadow to have chased him out of the room, but it was nowhere to be seen.
I...I did it...England sighed. Now all he had to do was wait for-
"I'm going to kill you"
England screamed at the sound of the cold, dark voice. He stumbled down the hall, in an attempt to run away, before falling to his knees again. He felt his eyes sting with tears, but wiped them away quickly. He refused to cry.
"Angleterre?" England looked up in time to see France staring at him in surprise before running to his side. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"France" England managed to breath. "I...I'll be fine...Did you find Canada?"
The Frenchman frowned. "No, I think we really are the only two people here..." He smiled grimly. "The only living ones, at least"
England shivered, looking away from France.
"So, is your leg better enough for you to be running around here?" France tried to ask brightly.
The Brit didn't turn to face him again. "I was resting, but I was attacked by that shadow thing we saw earlier..."
"Mon Dieu!" The blood drained from France's face. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine" England smiled weakly. "But I think we should consider the infirmary off limits from now on..."
"Well, it's good you're okay..." France smiled suddenly, holding out his hand for England to take. "We should keep moving. Can you stand?"
"I think so" England let the Frenchman pull him up. "But where are we supposed to go?"
"Well..." France started thoughtfully.
"We've pretty much been everywhere we can go in this bloody school..." England said sadly. "The only people we've come across are all dead...And I'm so tired..."
France tried to smile reassuringly. "It's not that bad Angleterre! We'll figure something out! We're countries; we've been through countless wars! I'm sure we can handle this" He laughed. "How about I cook you something tomorrow? It'll mean that you won't destroy your kitchen again, at least not for another day!"
"...If we make it back alive..." England said quietly. "But...how can you be so cheerful?"
France looked at him in confusion.
"You just keep smiling and laughing...How long do you plan to keep that up if it turns out we can never go home?" England asked angrily. "Have you thought about that at all?"
"Mon ami, I-"
"Stop it!" England yelled. "Don't call me that" When have we ever considered each other friends? The only reason we're working together now is because we have to!"
France's eyes widened. "Angleterre...You don't mean that..."
He didn't. There had always been a part of England, no matter how small, that had considered France a friend. But at that moment, England didn't care about that at all.
"How would you know that, frog?" England snapped. He sighed suddenly. "Look, maybe we should split up for a bit. We'll cover more ground that way"
"But, Angleterre..." France started "...Fine. If that's what you think is best..." He pointed down the hall. "I'll go this way. I suppose I'll see you later" The Frenchman looked at England sadly, before turning and walking away.
England immediately regretted everything. Why had he snapped at France like that? He had only been trying to help...And splitting up, look at what had happened to him when he was alone for barely five minutes!
"France" England called suddenly. "I-I'm sorry, I-!" He stopped. The hallway was empty.
The Brit looked around nervously. There was no way France could move that fast…So...Where...?
"France?" he asked hesitantly. England started running down the hall, where he had seen the Frenchman go. "France! Where are you?"
Leaving it there XD But this is the last you'll hear from England and France in a while...Anyway, please review and tell me what you think ^_^