"Alfred and I were in New York during the outbreak."
Matthew began unveiling the mystery behind his and Alfred's whereabouts and history during the apocalypse. Arthur sat intently where he was on the truck bed, listening to everything the other was saying.
"That's a horrible place to be during that time since it's so populated and it's hard to travel anywhere. At first, we were all set to stay there in the states or even go up to my country to hide out since that was the best idea to do at the moment. However, Alfred reminded me that Ludwig had informed us to go to Berlin if anything happened. Luckily, we managed to get on a military boat to take us to Europe.
"There were other Americans and some Canadians on the ship along with us. So, it could of been a rescue ship now that I thought about it. The exact details of the trip are a blur when I try to recall.. Whatever it was, it was still a well packed ship. Alfred and I bunked in with a dozen of other people in the dorms or whatever it's called. The beds were thin and closely stacked which made sleeping feel like a coffin. Alfred, of course, tried to make the best of the situation and pretended that we were on some superhero ship sailing off to adventure.
"We rode on the ship for three days without any problems. We didn't really talk to anyone there- then again, there wasn't much conversation with anyone in the ship. The only talk made was the brief announcements on the intercom from the captain. It was pretty much smooth sailing in the beginning which made the two of us feel better about it. At the start, we were both confused and concerned but, surprisingly, not scared. You know, we've all been in sudden, threatening situations before so we weren't alarmed too much by this.
"Anyways, as the next few days came around, talk started to happen. People in the ship had slowly come to realize and bring up the fact that we were those 'special goverment freaks who are the personified versions of their country'. Everyone suddenly turned to us and demanded explanations. They demanded what was happening, why it was, will it end, and countless others. Maybe it was the stress, maybe it was the grief, maybe it was anger- but everyone was so hateful and rude to us when we didn't have an explanation. Alfred tried to urge the fact that all will be well with those on board and tried to keep order but that was no help. No one would believe us when we told them we couldn't help and we were as clueless as them.
Matthew paused for a moment, licking his lips anxiously as the memory played out.
"That's... That's when they turned on us. The ordinary humans and citizens of our countries. They started seeing us as the enemy. They made claims that the whole break out was our fault. That we were the reason why this was happening and we refused to tell them why."
"You monsterous experiments always keep secrets from your people! It always ends up with us at the suffering end of the stick!"
"They dragged us out of our dorms and made us stay in these small rooms below. I had a room and Alfred had one. There was a small window connecting the both of us so that was how we were able to barely communicate. I could still feel the cold metal walls.."
A brief silence settled down before Matthew shook his head out of those thoughts to return back to the story.
"I had no idea what they were going to do to us. Maybe they were going to question us, maybe they were going to hold us hostage. Who knew. Anything could be possible at that moment. We were kept in those rooms without any word for a whole night. No food. No social contact. Nothing. It wasn't until morning- or at least I think it was morning- we were awoken by two fairly well built men.
"They dragged us out again, but this time in handcuffs. I was pushed out first then Alfred. While we walked up the steep steps inside the ship, I could still remember the looks passed on between the two of us. At the time, I was nervous and scared of what would happen. Alfred was, as he used to be, strong throughout it all and showed no sign of fear. I guess the men noticed that about him.. Maybe that's why they.."
No, he caught himself straying again. Matthew blinked a couple times before going back to his story.
"Anyways, they brought us out to the main deck. A majority of the people in the ship were standing around this three foot platform. It almost looked like a small stage. The two men pushed us there and forced us to stand facing those who were staring up at us from the front of the platform. That's when hell broke loose..."
"Ladies and gentlemen. Who we have gathered here today are the causes of our doomsday."
"The men called out to the crowd and explained to everyone how we were the cause of their DoomsDay. They claimed that the outbreak of the dead was our plans and our intentions because of our qualities. They claimed that since we can't die, even though right now it's obvious that we are just like them, we wanted to kill everyone else. And no matter what I said.. They always believed the two men. They always did. Alfred protested against this and tried speaking up for the both of us but that only made it worse.
"Before we knew it, we were guilty of everything that was going wrong. In a suitable world, we would have to endure trial and get an equal say into our part of the matter. But that didn't happen. Order didn't exist now and everyone had free reign of their intentions... That's when they snapped us."
Arthur blinked, a bit startled at what the other said. "Snapped you? What do you mean?" It was such a harsh term to use, which wouldn't be entirely overexaggerating. Matthew looked over at him, flashing a little smile to assure him.
"Ha.. Well, as the definition they had, it was performing things on us to make us 'snap' and break as a punishment for what we were accused of doing and a way to get us to fix this. As you could tell, our hands were tied and we had nothing to help us. Everyone on that ship was against us and the only people who knew the right thing were the both of us. That didn't help us.
"We were on that ship for two months. Two months. Every night we stayed in those metal rooms. Food was given in incredibly small portions and rarely. I felt like a lost cause dog in a kennel. Some days I would sit by the door and wait for that harsh drop of a tin tray on the floor beside me. That sound was the only pleasant thing I endured during those months... I know, that doesn't sound great. But, in the conditions we were in, that was the best to have happen."
Arthur furrowed his brows as he listened to Matthew. Did they really have to go through something like this? He could just imagine the two yearning for food where they were. He didn't like the thought of them being in such a state. Before the Brit could comment on this portion, Matthew continued.
"Every day was something different... At first, they would simply beat us. Sometimes it'll be with bare fists, others it was a variety pieces of metal- there were so many things I could hardly keep track. The funny thing is.. well it's not funny but.. everyone on the ship seemed to be in on it. Every time I was brought into another session of Snapping, it was a new person. I don't think I was tortured by the same person once. Maybe I was.. I couldn't tell." He sighed.
"The first week of this, we were fine. You know us. We've been through worse things. We've seen things none of those people have ever seen. This torture was nothing. Well, that's what we thought. Alfred used to talk to me through the little window we shared and attempt to soothe my worries. Despite being through my history, I always was shaken by certain things. So Alfred always would talk to me and try and motivate me by saying how this was nothing to what we endured before. Little did we know that this would be the worst thing we would ever experience."
Barbed wire. Knifes. Handcuffs.
"It didn't take them that long to find our weaknesses. As how the countries no longer stand, our invincibility and never ending life now has a limit. We can die. They found that out fairly quick. How they found out I am not sure. But they did and used it to their advantage. They would hurt us to incredible measures to the point we were close to death yet not in its arms."
Broken breath. Blurred vision. Couldn't move.
"They would handcuff us to these two pipes- Alfred always in front of me across the room. They made sure we could see each other. At the time, Alfred would always try and help me and reassure me. He would smile and tell me I was going to be okay and he would get us out. Oh Alfred... I think that's what made him the ideal target. If only you didn't play the hero, then maybe that role wouldn't have been stripped from you."
Alfred was lying on the floor, whimpering through coughs of blood. Blue eyes staring at Matthew with their forever bright expression. His lips forcing into a small smile. It came out in a breathy crack, "It's okay, Mattie. It'll be okay, I promise."
"He always assured me. He always was so strong when I was so weak... just like before. Those beginning sessions I was a scared mess. I was nervous and feared for us. Yet, Alfred was always smiling to me and gave me his comforting comments. Even when they hurt him, he still fell down in defeat with a smile and never failing heart for the good side. As he called himself, he was a hero. A hero always helped those in need and never showed their own brokenness. They always were shown as strong and confident. That was Alfred... Was.."
Matthew pursed his lips a bit.
"It only took so long before the hero's veil of empty pride was broken. In the midst of one of his talks with me during their horrid Snapping sessions, they broke it."
Alfred screamed as barbed wire was wrapped around his torso and ankles. One of the men in the room yanked him up from the ground and spat in his face. "Liar. You're only lying. You will fall just like how you did to us. There's no escape. We will make you suffer for what you have done to us. You caused this. Not us." Another scream as he was dropped, causing the sharp wire to pierce into him even more.
"As they hurt me, they hurt him even worse. I would cry and tremble like how I had been doing since the start but no smile or voice was there in response. The only response I got was an echo to my cry and wide, frightened eyes of my brother. He would make weak attempts to aid me but I always saw those thin strings of hope snap before my eyes. I could pin point the exact spots his spirit was continuously crushed. They didn't physically hurt me as much as they did to him, but that didn't mean I got the easy side of it all. No... No, they made me sit and watch as Alfred slowly broke and lost all strength of himself. All that strength that made him one of the world's strongest nations. All that strength that gave him the ability to manage his messy and arguing citizens. All that strength that kept his spirits up even when things got down. All that strength... taken from his own people. And I had to witness at all with the knowing I couldn't help."
Matthew weakly crawled over to the window of his and Alfred's cold, small rooms. Choked sobs and soft mutters could be heard from the other side of the wall. The Canadian called out hesitantly, "Alfred? Hey.. Alfred."
The American didn't answer. He merely continued to mutter continuously under his breath as breathy whimpers broke through them every now and then. The words the other was saying couldn't be distinguished from Matthew. All he could get from it was that it was thoughts caused by the Americans that shattered him down to such a state.
"You know, I've always had a bad opinion on Americans when it came to their way of treating their own people." Matthew continued on, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. "They're so naive and clueless to everything around them. They hurt and strip rights of those who have colored skin, beliefs of the minority, those expressing who they are, etc. They desire to keep immigrants out even though nearly every one of them are immigrants as well when it comes to family descendants. They give such horrible people chances of being the next leader of their country because of how narrow minded and cruel they are. Yes, I know other nations are like that as well but the U.S. always irritated me more than others due to how well off they are compared to others, like the terrorist countries and such, but these problems are caused mainly by the ignorance of their people who refuse to learn about the present and choose to dwell upon the past."
He shook his head, catching himself as he got off topic.
"The point is... this took things too far. They, the Americans, broke Alfred, their country, simply because that once again they refused to listen to the other side of the story and choose to act upon what they believed in such hasty thoughts. They punched him. They stabbed him. They starved him. They screamed at him. They broke him down into such a state I've never seen on anyone. They did that to Alfred. The one who took the blow and weight from their own history. People don't realize how their actions, their wars, their events, every action they make within their country, all of it.. is put on our shoulders. They have to deal with the weight temporarily. They have the ability to move on. But us? We have to feel that pain every waking day. We don't have the privlege to move on. We don't get to forget. We have to endure it all every single day. And look how they repaid Alfred."
Arthur gulped, nodding silently at what was said. It was true. The nation's never really did get into deep conversations about this. The pain felt by the weight of the history always goes unsaid and dealt with in silence and in their own hearts. Of course, now they were no longer nations which meant the built up hurt could flow freely.
"That's when I took a step up." Matthew said, his face hardening. "I had enough of their little games and fun with torturing an innocent man. I decided to be the one to reassure Alfred just like how he did with me. Just like how he always was for me and everyone for the past years. So, every time we were thrown once again into those chilling rooms, I talked to Alfred. I comforted him just like how he did with me. I soothed his cries- well attempted to. I spoke to him of how good things will be when I get us out of this. I reached out to him as much as I could despite my own injuries. However, that didn't matter. My bruises and cuts and weak body meant nothing when it came to Alfred. Alfred was and is my main concern. If it took me dying on that ship to get him out, that's what I would've done."
Matthew's expression softened slightly as he glanced up once more at the sky.
"When the ship docked in French harbor, chaos erupted. People were scrambling about since the living on the harbor demanded to get in. People on the ship realized that this whole outbreak wasn't only in their countries. Well, as they were all running about, one of the men who was in charge of watching us accidentally left our doors open. Seeing how this might be our only chance of being set free, I ran out and went into Alfred's room. He was, as he always had been, curled up in the corner of the room while weakly hugging the floor for comfort. It was obvious he couldn't escape this place on his own so I had to carry him off the ship. Luckily, there was so much going on it was easy for us to slip out of sight."
He let out a breath, turning back to Arthur.
"And so, it ties in with us now. From that harbor, I've taken Alfred with me in search for Berlin and you two. We hid out in an abandoned house for a week as a way to relax a bit and try and regain ourselves. That helped me a bit, since all that my body took in had caught up with me and I could barely make a mile a day. However with Alfred, it wasn't help at all. He was still in his fixated, jumpy self that had been broken down by his people. There was one little fleeting hope that his normal self was brought back when we were held at gunpoint at a drug store we were raiding. I saw Alfred kind of stand up for himself, shakily, but that glimpse of strength was taken away in the blink of an eye when he was shot. Which brings us to when I carried him throughout the place around, screaming for help. Which brings us to Francis hearing us and opening his cabin. Which brings us to right now..."
Matthew chuckled lightly, scratching the side of his cheek. It was a fairly long story, but it felt nice to tell. Arthur had listened intently at every word spoken. He had no idea how elaborate their story was. That all happened? They really went through all of that? He couldn't even imagine how horrible that must've been. To have something as bad as that break someone like Alfred... It was unbelievable.
The Brit cleared his throat, feeling a lump form. "I'm so sorry you both had to deal with that. Truly am. If I could turn back time so we were there with you during that time I would. Please, no that now, you're with us. You will never have to deal with anything like that ever again with us. We will protect you both. You're safe." It was an odd thing for Matthew to hear, but he nodded along with it as he still kept the idea of nothing ever being safe. Safety didn't exist to him anymore. He knew he would never let his guard down, even if he was with his fathers again. There were no breaks in the world anymore. You must be alert 24/7.
"Thanks." Matthew mumbled in response. That's all that was said. Arthur ran a hand through his hair, still taking in everything that was said. It was so much to wrap around his mind. So that explained why Alfred was like that. That explains the freak out with red metal. That explains everything about his demeanor.
Arthur decided to slip into Francis's shoes for a bit and took an observation on Matthew: He didn't go in depth on what happened with him. Yeah, he vaguely spoke how he, too, received torture but he seemed more descriptive with Alfred. Maybe that was because he saw the other as the more important one at the moment. It's easy to understand that ever since Alfred broke and lost all strength, Matthew wished to repay him and forced himself to step up and take the leader role. Even now I can see how that idea came to play. He was first to action when Alfred broke down in the car... It's as if every second he anticipates the other's potential dangers and triggers... I hope we get to Berlin soon. They've been through so much... They deserve at least a day with no worries. I want them to be at ease, completely.
The Brit was about to say something more upon the subject but was cut off by a very quick honk of a horn.
"You two, come back inside." Francis called out from the driver's window. "We're almost there."
Matthew smiled over at Arthur before going back through the back window. Arthur hesitated a bit, looking out at the moving scenery. Very, very far away he caught the sight of a tree falling down as if it were chopped. It was one of the fairly large trees but it was so far away he couldn't clearly tell since it was so far away. But, that didn't matter. A falling tree couldn't be that important, right?
Back in the car, Alfred had woken up from his small nap. He flinched a bit when Arthur and Matthew slid back into the car from the window beside him. Francis had spoken with him for a bit when he woke up since, as it would be expected, quite confused and worries when the other two weren't there. But Francis, how he's always been, was able to calm the other for the time being and assure him all was well.
"How much farther?" Matthew questioned as he wedged himself in the middle seat once again. Francis smiled warmly, looking at him from the driver's mirror.
"Take a look. Berlin is right here."
As he spoke this, the weary sign of 'Now Entering Berlin, Germany' appeared on the side of the road. The sign was faded slightly and in near shambles but the gloomy sight brought nothing but joy to those in the car.
Arthur and Francis grinned: They'll be safe now.
Matthew's lips curled into a little smile: Alfred, you can rest.
Alfred merely stared at the passing sign: It's our goal. It's here.
They were finally here. They finally made it. They were going to be alright. They made it to Berlin.
As they entered Berlin, another tree fell in the distance.
A/N:
Like I said, this connects with the previous chapter. I was gonna put it all together with it but that would've been a hella long chapter so yeah. I think splitting it up was good and served as a great lil cliffhanger ;)
Also, just so you know, I've decided how I will end this so the end is near. Well, not really near but it is coming close. Don't worry, characters I've kind of left off (like Ivan and Toris) will make their way into the story and other nations I haven't mentioned will be tied in. So, just expect the ending is coming soon.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave your feedback in the comments/reviews! I love reading them.