Saudade | CountryHumans RusAme

CHAPTER 16: Blue Like What Now?

RUSSIA
"Did I do anything stupid while drunk yesterday?" America asked when they were getting ready to leave the room for breakfast, morning sun filtering through the blinds. "I don't remember."

"No," Russia said, fully aware that was not the case. "You just fell asleep."

"Alright," America said, but he turned around and Russia watched him smile out of the corner of his eye. He's lying, Russia thought. He remembers every bit. The hand he had shook felt like it was doused in water, all heavy and prickly.

They left the room as the clock ticked seven a.m. to wolf down a breakfast bagel, ordered fresh from NYC Bagel — and as eight in the morning rolled around, they had made it to a station where a train bound for Connecticut awaited.

"What's Yale?" South peeped to China, who was helping North haul their bags onto the suitcase holder. One of Connecticut's most visited tourist spots was Yale University, the home of the massive library that hopefully held at least a little more information.

"Prestigious college," America replied instead, flipping through pages of a trifold he had found at the convenience store stand. "It's like a school someone would kill to attend."

"I thought that was Har-what-Hardard-" Poland stammered. "What the hell was it again?"

North shrugged. "Harvard," Germany said, laughing.

"You're the only one who took Worldwide Education," Poland glared, and Germany smiled in a smug way that plainly said 'it was worth it though'.

From the overhead speakers came a loud blaring noise, and Russia flinched as the voice of a man began filling the surroundings of the small compartment. The doors will be closing in 10 seconds, it said, all brassy and glitchy like announcements on a plane. This is the train headed for New Haven, Connecticut. We will arrive in approximately two hours and thirty minutes. The view from the windows began to slide out and away. 

America groaned from the seat behind him and China, where he sat with Japan. "I'm sleeping," he announced to really no one, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the window. Japan slapped on her headphones and Poland offered a pack of UNO cards to South, while Germany and North opted for the simplest way to pass time: sleeping.

"They always have to entertain themselves somehow," Russia said to China, amused.

"I heard that," Japan kicked Russia's seat and he lurched forward. China laughed, but left no time to talk before he returned to reading the trifold of his own and the compartment went silent — and left Russia to his own thoughts again.

He was still honestly slightly fascinated by the wonders of the real world. The ineffable beauty of the architecture, larger than life, was incomparable to what they saw in Neo. It was admirable enough in the city scramble, but he liked the nature more, never having seen the appeal of crowded mobs. Even better so, the skies were cloudless today; a bright blue too, blue like eyes and blue like beginnings and blue like the color of the... UN logo?

Russia did a double take. What?

The train had stopped shortly at the next station to get people onto the transportation, and Russia craned his head to peer at a few people clad in traditional UN blue. On their hands were wristbands sporting the logo, and black masks covered their mouth and noses ominously, vibing a spy-like appearance. Although each one carried a relatively normal appearing suitcase, he watched them walk further away and realized that that may not have been the truth at all.

He squinted, scrutinizing the movement of the suitcases carefully. There seemed to be no weight in them. As each member rolled their suitcases across a bump in the road, the suitcases were lifted at least a few inches off the ground, signaling that there was nothing in it... and it may had been a facade.