25 Ways Of Dying (CountryHumans RusAme)

Radiation

America shivered; there was a slight pain of where he'd been hit, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was trying to find Russia, to punch him like he promised he would.

America observed his surroundings; he was in a long, dark corridor with glowing signs with Russian characters written across them. This must've been another memory of Russia's.

"Russia!" America called, somewhat desperately, "Hey! Where are we?"

America heard a noise from one of the rooms beside him. He looked to the sign above the door and shrugged; it'd help if he could actually read Cyrillic characters.

He pushed open the iron door and looked inside - it was mainly just a platform with railing, below red and orange and green lights flashed. And there stood Russia, looking to something below the railing.

"Russia!" America exclaimed with glee, soon realising he should hit him sooner or later. His tone turned darker, "Russia!"

America sprinted to the Russian and hit him in the shoulder, making Russia jump and try to process what happened.

After a few moments, Russia finally said something, "Ouch."

America, standing behind Russia, stepped forward to look down to see what he was looking at. However, Russia held him back, placing a hand over America's eyes.

"Do not look," Russia hummed, "You never want to see this. You do not want to know what is happening."

"Yes I do," America replied, "By now I've been to hell and back. I think I can take it-"

"No. No you can not," Russia shook his head, "This is the way we.. I am going to die this round. Down there is pure radiation that was used to try putting you into coma. Pure radiation, yes? What do you think that means?"

"You're staring at it.. you.. your eyes.." America muttered, "N-no, Russia! That's gonna be way too painful, don't-"

"It is probably too late," Russia chuckled, "I can not feel half of face any longer. But that is normal, when staring at a granite radiation chamber which is metres away from you. It'll probably melt me sooner or later."

"Russia?" America asked after a minute of silence, "Why me? Why was I chosen for this?"

Russia huffed, "Because you were the most resilient and courageous country we have known. You are strong mentally. You are strong physically. You are perfect for this experiment. We needed you, because if things went wrong - which they did - they would not worry about you sitting down and giving up."

America's shoulders rested, his mouth was slightly parted. He couldn't believe what Russia had just said.

America slowly removed Russia hand from his eyes. He moved forward to Russia's side, his eyes closed, though it must've not done much. America then held the hand that covered his eyes, with no intention of letting go any time soon.

Russia's eyes widened as he looked down to America, heat rose to his face at the feeling of America's hand holding his. His heart racing, he felt as though he needed to say something.

"A-America, what are.. what are you doing?" Russia stuttered, "I-"

"Nobody's ever said that kind of thing to me before," America murmured, "They've only seen me as.. well, that person. My parents are always away, and I have to act like I don't care because I'm an independent country and I... Thank you, Russia."

Russia sighed, grinning, before squeezing America's hand slightly and looking back down to the sights below. Flashing lights, granite tubes with holes in them, steam seeping from them. Russia felt as though something was eating him from inside out - he gritted his teeth, grunting.

"Anytime."

America felt Russia's hand slip from him, then a thud. America wanted to open his eyes and panic but... There was no point.

Right. They were still in the simulation.