50 States: Chapter 13
First off, many thanks to KP2001, laiphya, and a Guest reviewer for your suggestions! I hope you like what I made of them.
The nations were stunned at the journal entries of these coded writers. Many of them now wondered if they even knew America at all. The way he was described in some of the entries were clearly not the America they knew. The nations continued to search the aisles, looking in every section. Germany wandered down an S aisle and selected a book labeled with a 3.
June 7th, 1918
Our advance on Hill 142 killed three of my battle buddies, including the sergeant. I have this numb feeling again from Sergeant Black's death. I thought that my experience from the Revolution and Civil War would've prepared me for death but it hasn't. It feels like only yesterday I was laughing and playing poker with Courtenay and Griffin and joking with the sergeant. I just never saw it coming. I can't close my eyes without seeing Courtenay laying on the ground choking on his own blood, Griffin howling in pain as the medics took him away, and the sergeant, my God!
Black's left leg had been blown off from a grenade and shrapnel had mutilated the rest of his body. He was barely breathing when I found him. I begged him to hold on and used my belt as a tourniquet. I tried to stop the bleeding but Black just grabbed my arm and told me it was useless.
'Don't bother, Jones.' He said. 'Just do me one favor Champ, give this to Aggie.'
He gave me a bloody letter addressed to his pregnant wife, Agatha. I heard him breathe his wife's name before he died. I screamed through tears for him not to die on me, that he had to live to see his baby, that Agatha was waiting for him. But he was already dead before the medic arrived. What destroyed me most was that Sergeant Black wouldn't live to see his son or daughter and I later found out that Griffin had died during the operation.
Germany felt empathy for the writer. He too had lost friends during the Great War. He recalled two young men that he was fond of, Leutnant Wildgrube and Unteroffizier Kirchner.Wildgrube was a strict but caring man, always caring about the safety of his platoon. Kirchner was a kind man who was devoted to his country but also wanted the war to end so he could return to his wife and children. They were both killed in action during the Battle of Cambrai in 1917.
Poland curiously wandered down a C aisle and selected a book labeled with a WW.
September 1st, 1945
Today is the anniversary of the invasion of Poland, my country, and it has been over seven months since my liberation from Auschwitz-Birkenau. I have made up my mind. I cannot live in my native country ever again. When many of my fellow Poles returned home, their houses already had new residents. My Jewish friends are bearing the worst of it. The anti-semitism has only gotten worse and the people actually blame them for Poland's suffering! What disgusted me the most was that many claimed that the remaining Jews should have burned with their deceased friends and used their fat for soap! I gagged when I first heard those horrible words. I may not be Jewish but I certainly do not blame them for the war. I never thought my country could become any worse but it did. The reason why I left in 1932 has become absolute. I am leaving for America today and I am going to live there permanently.
Feliks felt a familiar wetness in his eyes after he finished reading. He had also witnessed the vile treatment of his Jewish citizens after their liberation and had been repulsed by his people's behavior. He had wanted to do something to stop it but the fighting had left him weak and in poor health, too wounded to resist anymore. He now understood why Warsaw left. And he really couldn't blame her.
China had also wandered into the C aisle and seleced a book labeled BG. However, the two letters were written on a piece of tape. Confused, China lifted the tape to see two letters that had been scratched but he could still make them out. NG. He placed the tape back over the scratched letters and opened the book.
September 25th, 1945
I don't think I have ever experienced such joy in my life when Alfred brought me to his home. For the first time in eight years, I feel safe. At first I thought it was a dream but when I saw that it was real, I cried so hard I nearly made myself ill. I would see Nathan again. And Leilani, Sakura, Soo Jin, everyone! I can barely stop crying even now. I thought for sure I no longer had a future, that I would never leave Asia. I can't even call it home anymore. After all the hell I went through, I will never go back.
The horrors I've endured never left me though. I cannot sleep at all. For the past few days, Alfred and Sam had to force feed me a sleep potion. Nathan, my dear nephew, he is worried sick. He hasn't left my bedside since my arrival. Alfred is going to interview me tomorrow about what happened. I only hope that I will have the strength.
China had a hunch on what the 'horrors' Beijing experienced for the previous years of 1945. He could feel nausea bubbling within his abdomen. Eight years before 1945 was 1937. The year of a certain attack that he remembered all too well.
France gazed at the shelf behind China and selected a book with PS for a label.
July 22nd, 1942
Solange has given me a more tedious task than delivering messages to the Resistance. I am to hide Allied pilots that had been shot down a few days ago and then sneak them to the Spanish border tomorrow. There are two of them, Coombs and Greenspan. Members of the British Royal Air Force. Marguerite was assigned to get a Jewish man, Monsieur Sokol, out of France and into Switzerland. From what I remember, Sokol was from Czechoslovakia and fled to France in 1939. To evade the Nazis for as long as he did, he is very good at hiding. However, one can never outwit the Gestapo for long. Two of my comrades were captured yesterday. For all we know, they're probably dead. If what little I know about the Gestapo's cruelty is true, death might be a better option.
Marguerite and I are also running out of food. I can barely get any meat. Those German pigs take all the food and leave the French their scraps. We are still living off of potato broth and stale bread. No one but the Germans are allowed to eat to their satisfaction. A group of Germans invited me to join them at a café yesterday. I wanted to scream 'No' but I bit my tongue to prevent any sounds that could get me into trouble. It are the Vichy collaborators who make me sick. As their capital, I feel betrayed. But Alfred is depending on me and Marguerite to get information on the situation in France. We cannot fail our mission. The men in America need to know what they are fighting against.
France couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for his capital. Marianne had been in the French resistance and fought for the freedom of their people. He wanted to know more about how Paris joined the resistance. He started flipping through the pages.
As England wandered through the S aisle, Japan made his way over to the British nation.
"England-San, I believe this is your capital's diary." Japan stated, showing him the letters, LN. England's eyes widened.
"You're sure?" His breath hitched. "Where did you find it?"
"The C section. Their books are labeled with two letters that I think are the first and last letters of our capitals."
"C section... Capitals!" England exclaimed, slamming his palm against his forehead. "Japan, you're a genius!"
"This is not the only one, Miss London has a whole collection of diaries in the third C section." Kiku added, handing Arthur the diary.
"Thanks again, Japan. I'll look into it." Arthur rushed to the third C aisle and searched for the books labeled LN. London had said King George III was the reason she left so he skimmed through the books, looking for certain dates to give him a clue before finally settling on the third diary.
December 2nd, 1774
These godforsaken taxes are ridiculous! Most of the colonists can't buy enough food for their families. This morning I saw a man get arrested because he refused to pay the taxes with the little money he had left, money that he had been saving so he could feed his family! Why is that nation of mine allowing his brother's people to be pushed around like this? I knew he was daft and can be a complete bastard from what I had observed over the years but this? England does not even have the right to call America his brother. He spent more time away than caring for Alfred. I was the one who cared for him when England was away, I was the one he trusted to know about Emily and his children. Alfred and Emily have had enough, I've had enough, and so have the people. We cannot let this continue. Something has to be done. One thing is for sure though, I will never go back to England. I refuse to live in the same country as those arrogant pigs!
London's words were like a slap to the face. England remembered that he always left a maid to care for Alfred when he went away so how could...
Suddenly it clicked. The maid he often hired wore a bonnet that covered most of her head and had green eyes. She avoided speaking unless necessary and when she did, it was in a soft voice but it was clearly British. The maid was London! She was always watching from afar and had taken care of America during most of his childhood. Elizabeth had been there with Alfred and Emily and she had been there when Charity was born. She had met all of the states when they were born. Alfred clearly trusted her as a sister, seeing as the states called her Aunt Lizzie.
Meanwhile, Italy wandered through an S aisle before selecting a book labeled 26.
March 7th, 1850
One of Dad's agents met with me in the town square today. Another cargo will be transported to Ontario later tonight. Dad and a few others were going to meet them there. Uncle Mattie will make sure they get in safely. Our roles as shepherds has relocated over 300 passengers within the past few months. Del, Penn, and Jersey just started working as conductors with Aunt Lizzie, Mom, and Tante Marianne. We have stations all over the town. Martha, Mary, and Ginny act as station masters occasionally. Tante Julchen and I have been meeting with the stockholders to give them their rewards. Bridget, Susanna, Sam, and Mason locate passengers to provide them their tickets. Then, Adam directs them to the right path. So far, the Underground Railroad has been a success.
Italy tilted his head in confusion. Were these some kind of riddles? What's the Underground Railroad? Maybe Germany would know.
As Italy searched the library for Germany, Estonia was reading a book in the C aisle labeled MW.
October 26th, 1962
Tensions have increased since the photos were brought to the White House and Alfred has been working day and night without rest. Everyone is worried. I even heard my brothers whispering that they heard the officials in the White House were saying that the Soviet Union might start a nuclear war. I'm starting to wonder if Ivan is gone for good, that the Soviet Union has completely taken over him. I even heard the Baltic sisters crying that they may never see Toris again. I am also worried for him. What if the Soviet Union was making Ivan hurt him? What if Ivan has stopped resisting?
Nanuq misses him. He would just stare out his window all day without moving an inch except to eat or use the bathroom. I tried to find ways to distract him from the stressful environment but Alfred's children have always been smarter beyond their years. Just like their father. I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse. I pray that this will end quickly. I do not want to have to fight my own brother.
Estonia couldn't believe what he was reading. What did Moscow mean by 'resisting' or that about the Soviet Union 'making' Russia hurt Lithuania. Eduard thought that Russia had been doing everything on his own, that he made his own choices. But Tallinn and Riga said that Russia got Moscow, Kiev, and Minsk out of Europe before the Soviet Union came into power. Moscow even contacted Toris to get the Baltic capitals a voyage to America as communism started to spread.
Estonia had many questions going through his head. Was the Russia he knew real? The country that oppressed him and his brothers for decades... or was he someone else? Someone who had been as much of a prisoner as himself.
AN: There you have it! Requests of WWI, WWII, some of the capitals reasons for leaving, the Underground Railroad, and the Cold War.