Author's Note: We're with America once again. You know that I have to post a match about him on the week of his birthday. (It's kind of funny that I am posting this on Canada's birthday. LOL) I am slowly piecing together what I am doing this season. A picture I had saved on Facebook gave me the push that I needed to write part of this match. I thought I was going to end up finishing this one early too. I kind of did and then I worked on my Nano project. Both of them got done in just the right amount of time and I'm happy for that. I have the rest of July mapped out. I already know who I will be focused on next week. For now, enjoy this week's match.
Match Two: Mountain Ash:
Alfred stared at his phone. What time was it again? His phone hadn't been acting right even since he got to Feliciano's house. He had no way to call and check on his daughter. The American man hadn't planned on staying long. It was just nice to get out of the house for a little bit. Maybe see some old friends again. (Okay, he really wanted to see what was going on with Feliciano.) However, things got weird at this party. Who the hell were some of these clowns in here? A few others had no emotion on their faces. Where did these people come from? The other countries were not enjoying what was unfolding around them.
Things got worse when they couldn't leave the house. Since then, everyone has been trying to escape. So far, they hadn't had any luck at all. Cell phones don't work. All of the doors are locked. And the house has turned into a maze.
Alfred frowned as he looked at the ceiling. When did this house get so big? The American man had been here before.
"This house had never been this big," he said to himself. Walking down these halls was like walking through a maze. The walls started to look the same.
"Have I been here before?" Alfred asked himself. He started to frown.
"This is starting to confuse me," the American man complained. He rubbed his forehead. Alfred looked up.
"Hello?" he asked. There was no one in sight. His eyes shifted back and forth.
"Come out here! I know you're there! You can't scare me!" Alfred shouted. He put up his fists to fight. The American man was sure that he could throw a punch if he needed to. Alfred slowed his footsteps as he walked down the hall. Nothing was going to freak him out.
Alfred hadn't seen anyone else in god knows how long. Where did everybody go? The last he saw anyone was when the other countries spread out to find an escape from this house. Alfred remembered catching a glimpse of Feliciano's face. He could've sworn that he saw the Italian man smiling at the panic. But that didn't seem right. That wasn't like Feliciano at all. What the hell was going on? The American man scratched his head.
"This isn't making any sense!" he shouted. Suddenly, he froze. There it was again. Someone else was here. Alfred stood and took a listen. He pressed his ear against the wall. He thought that he could hear something. Was somebody whispering in the other room?
There's nothing to see here.
Alfred whipped around behind him. There was no one there. He looked all squinty behind his glasses. That wasn't the first time that happened.
He didn't want to think about the obvious but he had to get the hell out of here.
This had to be about… the… screw it! Alfred lost count of how many times he had been down this hall. It felt like he was going in circles. Only this time, the American man turned to his left. He was standing in front of a giant door. Huh? Had that always been there? Well, he didn't have much of a choice. Alfred reached out and opened the door.
There was nothing inside. Nothing but an old-looking mannequin sitting by the window. Half of the head was missing. Bits of paint were chipped off of the body. Alfred looked around as he walked inside. He made a B-line for the mannequin. The American man took a closer look as he circled it. It looked like a busted-up piece of junk to him. What was this mannequin doing here? Why would Feliciano and his brother have this?
Alfred narrowed his eyes.
"Hello. Do you know where we are?" he asked. No answer.
"No?" The American man stood next to the mannequin.
"We were at a party at my friend's house. Now, I do like parties. But I haven't had the time to go. You see, I have a little baby at home. She's really cute. Florence is her name. Her cheeks are squishy like a pink marshmallow. She has her mother's eyes." Alfred began to feel a little sad after saying that last part. But then he cleared his throat.
"Anyway, her aunt is watching her right now. She told me that I could use a night off. To be honest, I wasn't too sure about that. But Lydia insisted. Lydia is Baby Florence's aunt, by the way." He rubbed the back of his head. What the hell was he doing?
"Anyway, I came to this party here. There's something weird going on, man. There are creepy-ass clowns everywhere. Weird people staring at us. Some weirdo doctor who keeps staring at us. Plus, our cell phones started working." He frowned as he shook his head.
"They all looked like they came from some creepy little circus. I never knew Feliciano to be into that sort of thing. Then again, something hasn't been right with him for quite a while now. He comes off as creepy. What happened to him? Feliciano used to be so upbeat and nice. We don't know what changed.
"Anyway, so things are getting weirder at this party. Some of us tried to leave but the doors were all locked. Feliciano said something about the real fun beginning. We didn't like the sound of that. So now we're looking for a way out." Alfred chuckled a bit before he frowned.
"I don't know where I am right now. There wasn't a door here a few seconds ago. I just came here because I didn't have anywhere else to go. Now, I am just here talking to a mannequin like it's a person. Because… What else can I do?" Alfred sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" he asked. The American man looked around again. Nope. There was still nothing in here. Alfred frowned. Why did he come in here again? He looked over at the open door. Would he go out to the hallway again? Or would he end out in another place? The American man shrugged to himself.
Not like he had a choice anyway.
Alfred turned to his new friend.
"Welp, it was nice talking to you," he said. "I've got to go. I need to get home. My baby is waiting for me." Alfred patted the mannequin on the back.
"We might see each other again," he said. The American man walked out the door.
Meanwhile, Allen was walking along the glass on the other side. He couldn't get into the house as the way it was right now. Still, he managed to get in through the other side. He spotted his double walking out into the hall.
"What are you up to now?" he asked himself. Allen trailed Alfred, wondering where this was heading. Right off the bat, Allen could tell that something was wrong. Or rather he had a hint of what was going on. Was he going to stop it? Hell no. He just wanted to see where this was going. And so far, this looked rather interesting.
Allen trailed Alfred further down the hall. The cruel American man smirked.
"Getting colder," he said to himself. His counterpart looked around. There was no one on his side, but he wasn't stupid. Still, he had his own questions. Chief of all…
"How long will it take before you see it?" Allen asked as Alfred looked left and right at the end of the hall.
The others had to be around somewhere. Alfred could hear their voices in the distance. He just couldn't see them. He frowned to himself.
"I'm hungry," the American man said. Alfred rubbed the back of his head. Despite the party being on the disturbing side of taste, the finger food was good. He could go for more of those little sandwiches right about now. What was in them? Alfred didn't want to think about that. Feliciano had changed but he would do something that depraved. Right?
Alfred pushed that from his head. He needed to focus. Get something to eat first and then look for a way out. The American man took another look around.
"How big is this house?" he asked no one in particular. The more the American man walked, the more this place didn't make any sense. Neither Italian brother talked about renovations to the house. The house didn't look that big when everyone first came to the party. This had to be an illusion. There was no other explanation.
But how?
Alfred rubbed his forehead.
"This is making my head hurt!" he shouted. The American man let out a loud scream. Not like anyone was going to hear him anyway.
Sometime later, he noticed another door in front of him. Alfred tilted his head to the side. This was the second time he encountered a random door. The American man could see where this was heading. He shrugged to himself. He might as well. Alfred stepped forward and opened the door.
What the hell was this?
Alfred narrowed his eyes as he looked around.
"When the hell did I get outside?" he asked. This room, if that's what you could call it, looked like a scene out of a post-apocalyptic movie. The dust blowing around him made him cough. Alfred had to cover his mouth. There was nothing but dry bones around him. The more he looked around, the more things didn't look right. Everything looked rust-colored. He walked in standing up but came up from the floor. It felt like he was in an Escher painting. It didn't take long for things to get worse.
One of the skeletons started twitching. The American man froze. What the… What the hell is this? He doesn't know whether to turn away or not. Alfred tried to move but found himself stuck there. The skeleton turned over onto its stomach. It stared at him for a moment as flesh started to grow over its body. It looked dried out and flaking. Alfred froze. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening!
More skeletons started to twitch and grow flesh. Some even piled on top of each other. The American man found that he couldn't look away. He slapped himself in the face. No. This was happening. But this had to be a dream somehow. If not that, Feliciano must have drugged them somehow. That had to be it. Yeah.
When the last skeleton turned into a dried-out flesh monster with scales, the rest of them turned forward. It happened so suddenly that Alfred about jumped. One by one, the creatures started moving forward in the distance. They didn't make a sound as they moved. Where were they going now? Alfred tried to look out ahead. These creatures looked like they were heading out to a dull sun in the sky. It looked like they were drawn to one of their own climbing up a tall stick-like figure standing up proud to the sky. Two more dried flesh-like creatures crawled up from an open doorway in the ground.
That was all Alfred needed to see.
The American man turned around and went back the way he came. Surprisingly, he found himself back in the hallway. Alfred took one more look behind him. What the hell? What the hell was that? He looked into the doorway. All he could see was dust. Alfred shook his head.
"Nope."
He closed the door behind him and headed down the hall again. Alfred vowed to himself that he would give Feliciano a piece of his mind when he got out of this hellish maze of a house. But first, he needed something to eat. Alfred slowed down in his tracks. Would he even want to eat anything from this house? His stomach did the thinking for him after a second. It looked like he was going to take the chance. Alfred smashed his fist into his hand.
"Right," he said to himself. Get something to eat first and then find a way out. The American man paused. There was somebody nearby. Alfred walked in the direction he heard the noise.