The Slender Man (a Hetalia fanfiction - Book 2)

Chapter 28 - Last Hope

"If that's really where you think the last note is, then we need to get there ASAP." America said, breaking into a run, in which the rest of us did, too.
"You're not going to make it in time."
I panted, but pushed myself to keep on running, and now we're in the woods, running as straight ahead as we could, dodging trees and logs along the way.
How would you know that?
"Look at the sky. It's almost sunrise. You won't find the note in time."
We will! Just watch!
"How are you so sure the note is on that tree?"
My head registered what the voice just said, but I didn't stop running, despite how much my legs and lungs burned from lack of oxygen.
I don't know, but I guess I'll find out, huh?
"You're a foolish child."
Thanks, I just love to hear a random voice in my head insulting me.
As I thought that sarcastic remark, I realized that I can see a figure in the distance, just standing there, watching us run.
I looked away from it quickly and huffed hard, sweat cascading down my face as my legs became shaky.
No! Keep running!
The others are panting for breath too, even America and Germany seemed to be struggling.
I looked ahead again only to see that familiar tall, thin, and dark figure standing right in my path.
I made a breathless shriek and jumped away, turning and running around it, then dashed went forward again.
I glanced towards the others, seeing some slow down to catch their breath, some seemed to be running further away.
We're separating! Ah, shit...
"G-Guys..!" I panted, but I don't think they can hear me. I forced myself to keep moving forward, breathing heavily with my heart racing and my legs throbbing. Heat pulsed throughout my body, but along with that heat came a familiar chill.
I shook myself and jogged faster, since I can't go any faster than a slow jog at this point.
My head felt light from exhaustion, but I urged forward, stumbling a bit here and there.
How long will it take to get to that tree?
My vision swirled and blurred, but then I realized that it's not just from exhaustion.
I can see, in the corner of my eye, and next to a nearby tree, is Slender Man.
I turned away from him and continued forward, but I kept getting glimpses of him. Here's there every time I pass by a tree, every time I shift my gaze to another direction. He's everywhere.
My head began to throb and the voices are coming back. I can hear them, but I still can't understand them.
That same darkness began to cloud my vision, but I forced it away and pushed myself forward.
But then I realized that I can't see the others anymore.
Shit, did I lose them again!? This time, in the woods!
I don't have time to find them, but they could be in danger if they're alone!
I'm alone, so that means I'm in danger, too.
No, no. I'll be fine, they'll be fine, too. I just need to keep moving forward. They should, too. Maybe they're already at the tree?
No, if they have, I would have known if they found the note.
Would I? This is the last note, so would there be whispers and a breeze?
What if there really isn't a note on that tree?
What if this urge is just a trick of the mind to waste the last of the time we have?
This...This can't be a trick, it feels too real.
"What if that's what he wants you to believe?"
No no no, it...it can't be fake, the note must be there. It has to be...
"And if it's not?"
I...
I panted, feeling tears form in my eyes.
"I don't know..." I whispered, still forcing my legs to stumble forward. I looked up, and through the tops of the trees, I can see that the sky is lighter now, more orange and a lighter blue.
The sun is coming up.
"No...no no no no..." I stuttered, shaking my head, but then I blinked my tears away and pushed myself to go at a faster pace, running again, but I can't go full speed. The weight of stress and exhaustion is slowing me down.
No! Come on, Rosalie! Romano and Italy are counting on you all to do this!
Through the heavy amount of branches above me, I can still see the top of the large tree.
It's not so far away now.

Romano's P.O.V

My legs can't carry me anymore, and I abruptly stopped my pacing by falling onto my knees.
"F-Fratello...?" I heard Veneziano whisper. I looked up to see him looking at me with weary and concerned eyes.
Even with the state he's in, he still worries for me?
"I'm...fine..." I managed to say through my teeth.
Ever so slowly, Veneziano and I have been going...numb. We can't feel anything.
At first, it was a chaos of emotions, boiling in our blood and blinding our vision, and we were breaking down.
But now...now we can hardly feel anything anymore, and it's far worse than the barrage of emotions that erupted in us not too long ago.
Is it because we're dying?
I looked down at my hands, which pressed against the wooden floor beneath me to keep myself up. I've noticed for a while now that they're much paler than they have been before...before I somehow left my body. Our veins are black, an odd contrast to our ashen skin.
Veneziano and I are sitting in the same room as our bodies are in. Both of them are laying on the dusty bed, becoming paler by the minute.
"It's okay, you'll get used to it after a while."
I managed to turn my head and see Alexis standing there, smiling at us.
"Looks like they've found seven notes so far," said the boy, who I still haven't learned the name of yet.
Wait, seven?
"That...that means..." I breathed, but I didn't have the energy to speak much more.
"Yes, that right." Alexis said, nodding her head. "They have one more to go."
"But look outside," the boy pointed towards the window and I looked over to see the sky is a lot brighter than it was not too long ago. In the horizon, I can see the bright orange and yellow light of the rising sun.
"C-Cazzo..." I whispered shakily. My arms trembled, so I ended up collapsing onto the wooden floor, laying on my side.
I feel so tired, I just want it all to end...I need to close my eyes and rest.
As my eyelids drooped, I felt myself fade. Like I'm slowly falling down...
"Fratello!"
My eyes reopened to see Veneziano shaking his head softly.
"Don't sleep," he whispered.
"He's right," the boy said, smirking. "Because you'll never wake up."
I felt like ignoring their warnings and sleeping anyways, but I chose not to.
I tried to push myself up, but then I realized that I can't move my arms. I'm too weak...
"It'll be over soon," Alexis said, still managing to smile as sweetly as it is creepily.
"Yeah, you won't feel anything anymore, but it's actually nice not to feel anything." She continued. "No more pain, no more sadness, no more regret or anger...it'll just be a bunch of nothingness."
Now that she says it, I do notice that I'm feeling emotionless.
I think about the situation we're all in, but I don't feel concerned, I don't feel scared, I don't feel sadness, I don't feel anger...
It's like I have no care for it.
Have I ever really cared in the first place?
Now, feeling this numbness, I started to question if I ever really felt anything in the first place.
What is happiness? What is sadness? What is anger?  What is fear?
What...what is love?
Rosalie came into my mind at that point.
Despite this numb feeling, I still feel warm with her in my mind.
Her smile, her laugh, the warmth of her hand in mine, her soft lips, her beautiful blue eyes, her golden hair...
How come out of everything else, I still feel this?
I love her so much...I don't think I could live if I lost this feeling. If I lost her.
Then again, I'm practically dead anyway.
One part of me said, what's the point?
Another part says to keep this feeling, don't ever lose it.
Because, in this situation, Rosalie is the only one who can make me feel.
This...This is love.
It doesn't matter if I feel numb, because this is the only thing that would keep me feeling again.
Realizing this now, I miss her. I want her here with me, I need her here so that I can fight this.
But she and the others need to find that last note. Not only for our sakes, but for their sakes, too.
I don't want to stay in this place any longer, because I feel that if I do, this numbness will take away what's left of me, and feeling absolutely nothing is just...I don't think I can handle that. Not only will I lose my emotions, but I'll lose my mind, my every being.
And if that happens, I'll lose her.
I tried taking a deep breath, but my lungs don't want to work. They don't burn for air, though.
Which is odd, in a way. I'm not used to not breathing for so long without my lungs aching.
I shifted my eyes towards my brother to see he is staring blankly at the floor before him. He's sitting down, below the window, and leaning back against the wall. His head drooped a bit, and he looks almost as lifeless as he was when I found him.
I felt that numbness take over my mind again and I tried to will it away. How did I will it away before?
What made me feel, again?
Confusion set in motion. Wasn't I just thinking about that a little bit ago?
What happened? How did I just forget about the one thing that erased the numbness?
I tried to go through my thoughts, try and find what I was thinking about again, but I got nothing.
Wait, I can feel confused? I can feel confused, but is that good or bad?
I can't be sure of anything anymore. I used my arms to push myself up, but they keep shaking.
I gritted my teeth and pushed harder, making myself sit up and lean against the bed frame, the one with bodies on it.
Bodies? Where did that come from?
I turned my head to look on the bed and, to my shock, there are indeed bodies of two boys on the bed.
"What the hell?" I whispered, but then I heard a giggle.
I looked over to see a little girl, who looked familiar, but I don't know her.
Do I?
I looked at her eyes and felt my own widen. She has no eyes, and yet I can feel her gaze.
"You seem confused," she said.
I glanced back at the bodies of the two boys, then back at her.
"Who are they?" I asked, but my voice is raspy and weak. However, she seemed to hear me perfectly.
She smiled and giggled, and then the boy beside her began to laugh. He has no eyes either.
"Looks like the memory loss is kicking in," he said, snickering.
Memory loss? I'm losing my memories? What memories am I losing?
I can't process this, it's like it's too much for my head to handle.
What's going on? Why am I in this room?
"You get overwhelmed, numb, have memory loss, you lose your mind, blah blah blah, and then you die," the boy explained. "In that order, anyways. That is unless they find the last note in time."
"I die?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing. "Do I have some sort of illness?"
"You can say that," the girl giggled.

Rosalie's P.O.V

Now knowing that I'm almost there, I had a small burst of adrenaline and hope, which is all I needed.
I began to run, and not just a normal run, I ran full speed.
Yes, my legs and lungs are killing me, but right now, I don't care.
I keep seeing Slender Man just within the distance, or nearby, but I don't look at him directly. I would be stupid if I did.
My vision is still hazy, but I can still dodge trees and branches when I need to.
That feeling of being watched was enough to make me go crazy, but I just used that feeling as strength to run more.
"Almost there...almost there...almost there..." I panted repeatedly, kind of like a chant for me to keep going.
Then, I saw it. Just within the trees ahead of me, I can see a large trunk of a tree much larger than the rest.
But it's bright out now. I seriously have no time left, possibly less than a minute before the sun actually breaks through the horizon.
Please please please let the note be on that tree...
I ran through some more of the trees with Slender Man still right on my heels.
Now that I'm closer to the tree, I can see a single sheet of paper attached to it...