THE END IS NEVER THE END II Countryhumans AU

4: HIDDEN TREASURES

I take in a sharp inhale as I slid down to the ground. I don't know if it just came with age and experiences. Now I'm not one to back down from a war (Made that pretty obvious with my track record in history), but...

I'd rather just sit here and probably just get taken away if found.

"Do... Do you know specifically where?" I ask my wee lad. He looks down on his pages, then looks back up at me with a frown. I groan as I feel my body worsening from that damn fall.

"You know... Maybe I could just-"

"-No. You're staying right here with me. Who knows who or what is out there. I can just– Ugh... For bloody sake–" Each time I wanna move my limbs, I start shaking. My whole body's tellin' me no. I think I broke my ankle too. Can't this day get any worse? -Argh, just... Whatever you do, don't go out there alone."

He only nods a little before taking my hand. "Well, if you really wanna go but don't want me to leave on my own, then maybe I could carry you!" That honestly got a chuckle outta me. "Sea, baby, I appreciate it but aren't you a wee bit too... Small? I may already be a pile of rotting bones at this point, but I don't want you to stress yourself, mate."

He smiles a little. "I may not be able to really carry you that much, but I could at least try and help you get up your feet, right?" I couldn't help but smile back. I laugh a little as I ruffle is already dishevelled hair. "You bloody rascal." He let out a small giggle.

I take in a deep breath as I try to stand up. Slowly but surely, takin' it easy. My body's still shakin' but Sealand's helping me. Trying to hold onto me, assisting me the best he could as I go. One hand holdin' for dear life onto his as he just makes his stance - bein' a lil' adorable pillar of strength for me - and the prosthetic other holding onto the wall.

Wow... I'm actually managing it.

......

...Or not.

My prosthetic arm just snapped in half, right in the joint. It makes a resounding clang as it falls on the dusty cemented floor.

Well, there goes my arm. I do absolutely love reverting back to my dismembered self. Ohhh yess... Totally.

Sealand looks panicked again. Before he could even ask, I beat him to it. As much as I'm going to start suffering even more now, I don't want him to keep worryin' too much. I force a smile and brush it off. "It's fine, Sea. That 'ol scrap was gettin' pretty rusty anyway. After, what, almost 'bout a hundred years or somethin', t'was 'bout to break anyway." He takes it for an answer and moves on. Nice. Though I'm scared for my life 'cause of the boffins now if we ever get outta here alive.

Baby steps is what we're working out at the moment. We take small steps forwards, helping me feel comfortable with walking again. I'm still limping and everything hurts, but I think I'm managing. I couldn't help but squeeze Sealand's hand a bit. Without my prosthetic arm for more support, I can't hold onto walls, crates, or other diddly doo-dads that we happen to pass by. I glance down at my boy and he's got this stern expression. Pretty rare honestly. You'd think as his father that I'd know exactly what he's thinking and what he means by that mean face, but I frankly don't. Not this time at least. Could guess that all this mayhem's runnin' to his little mind right now. This is the most eventful thing he's ever done; and that's sayin' something, 'cause we live in a day and age where every single waking moment is an eventful survival challenge when you're the hotspot of the war, under Russian control, and have your own son as your biggest enemy... Or maybe he's thinkin' about me. He kept asking how I was this whole time, and now that I'm squeezing his small hand, he's probably thinking that I'm depending a lot on him. And even though I pretty much am, I don't want for it to get to his head. I feel really bad.