The England Experiment

PostDramaticStressDisorder

Ludwig tried to stay calm. He just had to repeat what he used to do when he first broke Arthur out, right?

Arthur sat on the floor, he had scrambled to a wall and was now curled up, breathing heavily, his eyes were closed, and had heavy bags under them.
Ludwig knelt down in front of Arthur.

"Kirkland."

"Name, Arthur Kirkland. R-rank, colonel, serial number, 346/9."

"Arthur it's still me. This isn't real, you have to snap out of it."

"Name, Arthur Kirk-Kirland. Rank, co-colonel. Serial number, 349- no, 34... 346/9."

"Arthur!"

"Name-"

"It's Germany. It's Ludwig."

"Ludwig?" He whispered. "Belschmitt?"

Ludwig wasn't sure if Arthur could actually see the real him, so he picked up one of Arthur's shaking hands.

"Yes, it's me." Arthur's eyes widened, and he started taking short, sharp breaths.

"You have to help me get out of here I know too much about the front lines please it hurts so much Ludwig I-"

"Shh, it's okay, now come on."

Ludwig grabbed Arthur by the shoulders and stood him up, and the brit leant heavily on him, but Ludwig made him stand upright and pace across the room.

"Name." He said.

"Ar-Arthur Kirkl-land." He replied, still struggling to get the words out. Ludwig did not know if this would work, but he had spent a lot of time with Arthur pacing across rooms and repeating the basic principles after he was first captured, and it worked to steady him often. He just hoped that the thought was still rooted in his mind somewhere.

"Rank." Arthur's knuckles whitened where they were twisted in Ludwig's shirt, and his eyes were pressed closed.

"C-c..."

"Rank, Arthur."

"Co-colonel."

"Good. Serial number."

"3...346...9."

They repeated this a few times over and over, pacing up and down the room. Slowly Arthur was less panicked, and his thoughts were clearer.

"Rank."

"Col-lonel."

"Serial number."

"346-" suddenly Arthur's knees buckled, and he half fell to the floor before Ludwig grabbed his shoulders. Arthur coughed roughly and leant against Ludwig, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

"Ludwig, I- I'm so t-tired."

Ludwig's heart was set in motion again, and he tried to settle it before he put his arm under Arthur's and slipped it around his back. Arthur let out a yell of pain.

Ludwig looked at Arthur's back to see his white shirt almost soaked through with blood, the whip marks cutting deeper into his back. Ludwig took a sharp breath in. He cursed himself, he hadn't even noticed Arthur's condition.

"Because you pulled him up before he was done, he's still there. No matter how much you try to calm him, he's still there, and he's going to get worse until it wears off."
Ludwig drew in a sharp breath, looking at Oliver. He had forgotten the 2p was there, had been standing silently in the corner. He was frozen, and had a large, crazed grin on his face, but the look in his eyes was absolutely terrified.