[APH] Necropolis

Hetalia + Zombies. What else can I say?

England rested his head on the meeting table and sighed deeply. The short stack of papers he had with him seemed endless and there was more at home. Letters from his government, foreign affairs with almost every country there was, personal notes from other nations, and pointless documents that needed to be read and signed. But for now, he could just wait for America to show.

The other nations seemed to be swamped with work as well. Germany was focusing intently over a document he held tightly. Italy was glancing at a folder in front of him, frowning slightly. Romano was scribbling something angrily while Spain watched behind him with a bemused look. Russia read over documents, his head resting on his palm. Belarus sat next to him, but was surveying her work as well and ignoring her brother. France seemed to be drawing something on his paper, but England couldn't tell what. He could imagine what it was though. Others present were primarily doing the same thing.

The meeting would start when America appeared. The meeting should have started an hour ago and they would have begun already if America wasn't the one hosting this particular meeting. "This is just like him. Being late to his own meeting." England muttered to himself quietly, sitting up straight. The meeting room was bleak. The walls were a dull shade of gray and there were no windows. The only lighting came from the buzzing fluorescent lights above them.

The only sound in the room was the shifting of paper and sighing of bored nations. Prussia, who usually appeared at meetings unwanted, was being abnormally quiet. He seemed to be listening to music from the weak sound England could hardly hear. Outside, there were the sounds everyone had become used to while they were visiting America. Everyone had been in the room for about two hours and the evident boredom was becoming tiring.

Most of the countries present looked up, hearing the sound of doors slamming downstairs. "That's probably him." Hungary stated, looking at the door expectantly. The sound of running feet was accompanied with high-pitched screaming from somewhere outside. Most of them ignored the yelling until it seemed to grow louder and more voices added to it.

Italy looked around nervously. "Should we leave?"

"If it's a threat, we're probably safer inside anyway." Germany reassured him. Italy didn't look convinced, but still went back to browsing the folder he had with him.

The door slammed against the wall and was hurriedly shut again while America pressed his body against it. He was breathing heavily and looked like he could barely stand. The group looked over at him.

"Well you're finally here. Lazy git." England complained, narrowing his eyes at America who had his back turned to him.

"Eh…is there something out there?" Canada asked quietly, looking concerned for his brother.

America nodded hastily and turned to the assembly of nations in front of him. They watched him carefully, everyone silently wondering what had happened. He was out of breath and leaning against the door. "Something…something's wrong."

"What do you mean?" Japan asked curiously. America hesitated to reply and looked down at the floor. The lights flickered and China swore as he lost connection with the internet.

"Well? Are you going to tell us or not?" Russia asked, now glaring at the exhausted American.

"Some sort of…virus or rabies or infection or something. I don't know what it could be; people are turning insane and dying! I've never seen anything like it…I hope my scientists would tell me before they unleashed anything or maybe it's something natural, but it just looks too...too much like something else." America tried to explain, but he just received more confused looks from the group.

"The swine flu?" Denmark asked jokingly, recalling the American panic from a few years ago.

"I…there's...people are becoming…" America hesitated again, averting his gaze to the floor. He feared their reactions.

"Dammit just tell us already!" England shouted, hitting the table violently. He was tired of America stumbling over his words while trying to explain whatever had happened. From what England gathered, it seemed America was either going crazy or had created a surprisingly realistic prank.

"They look like zombies!" America shouted before sliding to the ground. "Oh God this is horrible." He whispered to himself. "Everyone is going to die and it's probably my fault. Scientists have been experimenting with some odd substances…that experiment I was in…" He faltered and resorted to biting one of his nails neurotically.

The room was silent, everyone staring at the American. "Do…do you think he's telling the truth?" Lithuania asked, looking around the table for answers.

"If he is this could obviously get out of hand. An outbreak of a virus is one thing, but if it's anything like what he described...from what I've seen in the media it is not going to be good." Japan mused quietly.

"You're going to trust what you saw in American video games and movies?" England asked, staring at Japan. "We're going to have to look for ourselves before we jump to conclusions. Although I personally think America's gone mad." England whispered the last part, glancing at America warily.

"Where is the screaming coming from then? I don't think crimes happen this often in America." France asked, referring to the shouts that still pierced the air outside.

"Good point, France." Germany noted. "From what it sounds, I think we should go out there armed. Does anyone happen to have any firearms with them?"

Russia raised his hand and Switzerland followed tentatively. "Fantastic, what do you have?" Germany inquired, looking at the Russian first.
"A pistol with a few rounds. Anything bigger I was afraid would be confiscated." Russia explained casually, opening his briefcase to retrieve the weapon.

"Two revolvers, a few hand grenades, and three rounds for an AK I don't have with me." Switzerland described, reaching for his bag as well.

"It's not much, but better than nothing." Germany announced, grabbing the pistol from Russia and waiting for Switzerland to hand over his weapons.

"Someone's going to have to talk to America or something. He's no use if he's going to go insane again." Russia noted watching the depressed country with slight amusement.

"You can. He certainly won't listen to me." England said, also observing America.

"Me? The Cold War wasn't too long ago, if you can remember." Russia retaliated. Even though the countries' superiors had improved relations, the two still hated each other.

"That's why he'll listen." England whispered. Russia sighed with annoyance and stood up. Belarus looked at him with concern, but stayed quiet. He didn't want to do this, but he thought he should try. 'Maybe,' he thought, 'I'll just make him worse.'

Russia crouched down next to America carefully. "Alfred, my dear comrade, what do you hear?"

"My life is ruined…" America muttered, still keeping his gaze directed at the floor.

"That is screaming. Your people, screaming in terror. If you are correct, they are also being eaten by bloodthirsty 'zombies'. That will also be your fate if you choose to sit here. Now I would gladly leave you to die, but I don't think England would like that too much. Even though I do hate that мудак. Now get up, we have to see if there are actually zombies. I also have a feeling that if they are zombies, you would have the most knowledge about them."

Russia stood up and offered his hand to America. He reluctantly accepted it. "Do we have any weapons?" The American asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Were you not listening to what we were discussing?" Russia asked, glaring at him. "We have a few. Pistols and grenades are the extent of our weaponry so far. Your wonderful 2nd Amendment will surely change that."

"Of course." America replied, grinning. His mood had changed rapidly, which concerned Canada.

"Alfred…you are being serious, right?" Canada asked his brother.

"Yeah, you'll see soon enough. I just can't believe…something as surreal as this could happen. My favorite thing about video games has actually happened."
Canada nodded weakly and left America, although he wasn't completely convinced.

"It's decided. All of us are going to leave and investigate. Bring your stuff if you please, but you most likely will not need it." Germany announced to the group of nations before him. "Before we leave, I would like to have a list of everyone who is here." He commanded. He produced a small piece of lined paper from his pocket and quickly noted who was present. The room was awkwardly quiet, with the exception of America discussing zombies with Japan quietly.

Germany
North Italy
Japan
Great Britain
France
United States of America
Russia
China
South Italy
Spain
Denmark
Sweden
Finland
Norway
Iceland
Austria
Hungary
Prussia
Poland
Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia
Greece
Switzerland
Belarus
Liechtenstein
Canada

It was a rather lengthy list, but some countries were still absent. Ukraine, Seychelles, Cuba, South Korea, Turkey and others. Germany knew they were required to come to the meeting. Why they chose to stay home was beyond him, but he was also worried for them. But he quickly disregarded the feeling and pocketed the list.

"Okay. America, Russia, and Switzerland are armed with guns. England and France will have the grenades. We will lead the group out of here. In the event that the 'zombies' are the running variety, we will have to find a large vehicle, such as a bus, and seek protection elsewhere. With…traditional zombies, stay away from the infected at all costs and we'll try to find somewhere to stay so we can form a plan. If there are no zombies, we will return here and resume our meeting. Try to avoid being attacked. Until we know what effect this has on us, take every precaution you can." Everyone remained silent while Germany instructed them, though America and a few others couldn't help but smirk when he mentioned zombies in his serious tone.

America found his way to the front of the group and met with Russia. The Russian nodded at him to open the door. With a deep breath, America opened the door and revealed an empty hallway. The screams became louder and it was evident there were victims of something a few floors down.
The echoing shouts made America shiver while thinking of what could be happening to his people currently. Although he could only imagine what the other countries were feeling outside of their home. Was the virus everywhere or isolated solely in America?

Russia prodded America with his revolver. "Are we leaving yet?" America nodded and stepped outside. The stairway was conveniently located a few steps away to the left across the hall. The lights flashed again, making Italy mutter something in Italian fearfully. America opened the door to the stairway and peered down. It was empty except for a frighteningly fresh blood splatter on the wall.

America made his way down, Russia following beside him. Their footsteps echoed in the stairway and added an air of suspense. There seemed to be another sound other than the screaming and commotion from outside. Then, greeting them at the bottom of the stairs was what America had described as a zombie.