This Is Where We Fall (Hetalia Zombie Apocalypse AU)

"Ribbons" -Sweden & Finland-

Silence.

That's what was spoken as Tino and Berwald trudged the empty dirt path. The sun had just risen on what seemed like the hundredth day of silence. When was the last time a memorable conversation was made between them? What day was it? Or should they ask, how many weeks has it been? It certainly felt more than a few days.

Berwald walked ahead of Tino, leading the way to wherever they may be going. Their destination, same as everyone, was Berlin. Fortunately for them, they had been visiting Denmark at the time of the breakout so they were quite close to their safe haven. However, distance seemed to be the least of their problems.

"Tino." Berwald broke the silence with the dullness of his voice. He stopped walking as Tino did the same. They had paused to look at an old school yard. It had been raided and such by others who had come by. The windows were shattered and the doors were ajar. It appeared empty on the outside, but inside was always a different story.

"Let's go in." Tino replied as he took the lead now. His tone was emotionless and empty. Berwald watched him go first as he soon followed. Oh how he wished to see the old Tino again. How he wished to see him smile and laugh without a care in the world. How he wished for him to be happy. But no, that was not so. It hadn't been so ever since that time...

Knock knock

Tino pounded his fist on the wall of the schoolhouse and waited patiently to see if any biters responded to the call. There was none. Seeing how the coast was clear, the smaller male stepped inside. Berwald followed in behind him.

The halls were torn and vacant. Desks and papers lay scattered on the scratched wooden floors. Occasional blood smeared the walls, not uncommon to see now. Classrooms were broken into, their doors hanging off its hinges. Tino walked slowly through the halls and peered into every crook or corner. Berwald watched him closely, making sure he didn't let anything dangerous pass him by. After doing the first surroundings check, they relaxed their weapons and entered one of the classrooms.

"So little." Berwald exclaimed as they entered what appeared to be an elementary school classroom. The tables were circular and all the chairs seemed like a dolls in his eyes. Colouring sheets and supplies littered the floor. The old chalkboard had dusty chalk smeared across it. It looked as if there had been a tornado sweeping through. Tino examined everything slowly, his eyes darted from one table to another.

"I don't see anything we could use." He spoke as he prodded a book with the tip of his dagger. Blood still coated the handle of the blade. Who's blood that was, Tino never spoke their name.

They roamed around the other classrooms to gather supplies they may need. To their misfortune, the only supplies they managed to snag was an empty school bag, some sharp scissors, and a few books. Supplies were hard to find now due to the fact most places had already been raided by others. However that never stopped the two from looking. Who knows what someone may have left behind.

After a few more minutes or so, they decided there was nothing left worthy to obtain. As they were walking towards the exit, Berwald caught a glimpse of something waving attached to the fence outside.

"Look." He pointed out the item to Tino. It appeared to be blue and white in the distance; the exact description of what it was was unclear. The two men exited the school house approached the item.

It was a blue ribbon with a single white stripe in the middle tethered to the fence. The blue resembled the colour of the ocean, the white line could be shown as a symbol of the ocean's calm foam. It was alone where it was tied, no other ribbon nor object could be seen near it. Tino's eyes widened at the sight of such a ribbon.

"N-No." He mumbled as he turned away. He put a hand to his head and lightly grabbed a fistful of his hair. The sight the silk fabric brought unpleasant thoughts to his mind. It brought the image of laughing boy to his mind. A boy with short blonde hair and blue eyes. A boy with a bright smile and a big heart. A boy he was trying so hard to forget.

"Sorry." Berwald said softly, regretting ever pointing out such a thing. He knew how much the loss effected Tino. He knew how much different he became because of such an event. The Swedish man slowly reached over and untied the delicate fabric, freeing it from the fence.

"Get rid of it, please." Tino murmured into his hands. His legs were trembling along with his arms. His violet eyes wide, staring into the palms of his hands. No, he mustn't let succumb. No, he must keep his mental state of mind. He mustn't break, again. Berwald nodded and walked off to dispose of the ribbon. Instead of throwing it away, he stuffed it into one of his dirt caked pockets. Tino may want to forget the past, however he did not.

Returning back to Tino, Berwald found him breathing heavily and clutching his head. The words, "I must not" and "everything is fine" repeated over and over under his breath. The Finnish man's violet eyes were brimming with tears as they stared into the space before him. Nothing was there.

"Shh." Berwald said calmly as he faced the smaller male. "It's okay. It's okay. Calm down, please." Tino blinked a couple times and looked up at Berwald. His eyes were wide and the look he gave him was broken. His mouth, slightly agape, issued soft words that he used to try and reassure himself. After a few more minutes, Tino managed to recollect himself and released his hold on his hair. His breathing relaxed as well as he regained his old on his dagger.

"Come on, let's go." The Finnish man motioned as he made his way out of the schoolyard. His mood could go from breaking down to hard as stone in seconds. That's something Berwald noticed ever since their family had been shortened. Ever since that boy left their company. Ever since that boy was eaten before their eyes. Ever since their wake up to this new world.

Don't worry, Tino. We're going to make it to Berlin. We both will make it. I know it, we just have to keep going.

We just have to survive a little longer.

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A/N:
'Kay, sorry if this chapter sucked compared to the others. I wanted to make sure I updated for you guys!
I promise, future chapters will be waaaay better than this one.

I believe this is the end to my introductions of the main characters
So the real story and such will begin in the next chapter!

Hope you like it!
Please leave feedback in the comments!