Never Too Late (a We Are Zodiac Hetalia fanfiction (ON HOLD))

Chapter 5 - We're Not Safe Anymore

No one really spoke much, but I don't blame them.
I watched as England healed Japan, but then England's thick eyebrows furrowed and he lowered his hand away from Japan's face. 
"I can heal his wounds, but..." His voice trailed off for a moment, then he spoke again. "But I can't stop the venom. Whatever it is and whatever it does, I can't stop it."
"What?" America asked, staring at England in confusion. 
"I-I don't know," England said, standing up. "My magic doesn't affect it."
"That's strange," Alice muttered, walking over. "Let me try."
She knelt down next to Japan, lifting her hands and muttering something, and then a dark blue glow formed around her hands, and she lowered them onto Japan's chest.
After a quiet moment, her eyebrows furrowed as well, and she removed her hands. "My magic doesn't work either. Huh."
Her blue eyes glanced at Japan's unconscious face with concern before standing up.
"Then...how can we-a help Japan?" Italy asked, his voice a bit wobbly as his watery eyes also looked at Japan.
"We can't," England sighed. "We can only hope that he can fight it, whatever it is."
"Does zhe venom infect him?" France asked, "I mean, does zhis mean he's infected?"
No one was quick to respond to that.
"I guess we can only wait to find out," England muttered, brushing his hand through his hair. "This is preposterous...there aren't many things that can't be stopped by magic."
I brushed my bangs from my eyes, biting my lip.
If this virus can't even be stopped by magic, then what can stop it?
The banging at the door had finally ceased, but I can hear the hissing and growls just outside of it, telling us that they're still out there.
"Ve need a plan," Germany spoke up, breaking the silence. "Ve can't stay here forever."
"Of course we can't," Spain said, his green eyes glued to the door. "This place won't keep us safe for long."
"And my magic has its limits," England added. "So my barrier surrounding this place won't last long, either."
"But what are we going to do about those...those...people out there?" I asked, stuttering a bit, wondering if I can still call them 'people'.
"We-a fight our way out," Romano answered, although his expression told me that he didn't like that idea any more than the rest of us did. "What else?"
"Be we can't just-a kill them!" Italy exclaimed, shaking his head. 
"Hey, guys," America spoke up and we looked over to see him peaking through the small window. "There's a van parked not too far from here."
England and Germany walked over to look out the window also.
"It looks big enough to fit us all," Germany said with a little nod.
"There's no way we could get past those things though," England muttered.
"Maybe we can distract them?" Oregon suggested after taking a peak over America's shoulder to look out of the window. "We can use something to lure them away."
"But vhat?" Germany muttered, brushing his hand through his pale blonde hair, which is falling out of its slicked-back posture.
"Don't-a you guys have some sort of-a spell that you can-a use?" Romano asked, motioning towards England and Oregon.
Their eyes widened slightly at the idea.
"Yeah!" Alice exclaimed, nodding. "I've got an idea."
"What are you gonna do?" I asked, curious and concerned.
She gave me a smirk, "You'll see."

~~

I peeked out the window to watch as the magic took place, also finding the large van that we're going to run after once all of those...people have gone away from it.
Oregon and England are sitting crossed-legged side by side, eyes closed as they were murmuring their spell in unison. The rest of us were silent so that they could concentrate on the spell.
I'm still not sure what they're gonna do the lure the beings outside away from the van, but, as Alice just told me several minutes ago, I'll have to wait and see.
But then both of their eyes snapped open, but they're not focused. Their lips had stilled, and at the same moment, their was a sound.
"Hey! Over here!"
I blinked in surprise. Is that someone outside?
I ran, along with a few curious countries, to the other side of the room to look out the window to see another Oregon and England standing outside, calling out and waving their arms about, catching the attention of several of those beings.
There was a halfway formed crab-like person that snarled, crawling her way towards the two.
"What in the world..." I heard Romano mutter.
I glanced back behind me to see that Alice and Arthur are still sitting there, staring blankly as their spell took place.
As I brought my gaze back out to see more and more of those things surrounding the two, I thought: An illusion? Is it some sort of illusion spell?
But as I studied the creatures surrounding the false images of Oregon and England, I noticed that a few of them looked alike. Some of them had large, metallic claws at the end of their arms, some of them have those giant scales on their heads, like China, and I noticed two of them, who also looked alike when it came to their transformations, are holding hands as new pairs of faces were opening up on their backs and stomachs, which grossed me out. But that's not the point I was trying to comprehend.
Some people are transforming into the same kind of creatures that other people are turning into.
However, I couldn't think much more about that as several creatures snarled loudly, their gazes swirling with hunger, and they leaped towards the two figures.
Alice smirked and stuck out her tongue, then, just as a creature with large, curled horns and legs in the shape of hind legs of a ram dashed to her, both she and England faded away like sand blown by wind.
The befuddled creatures growled, but then my arm was grabbed so I was turned to see Alice and England launch to their feet.
"Go! Now!" England commanded as I saw Germany lift Japan into his arms.
That's when we dashed towards the doors just as England shouted something incomprehensible to me and the soft green glow that took shape within the building's walls faded.
America slammed the doors open and we ran out. I glanced over to see the group of creatures snap their heads towards our direction, and several of them already began running towards us.
"To zhe van!" Germany shouted, snapping me back to attention and we turned to our right, straight towards the large, black van sitting in the parking lot.
But really, there's only a slim chance this will really work for us, right? I mean, what if the van is out of gas? What if we can't start the vehicle in time before the creatures chasing us actually get to us? What if-
Then Spain pulled the van door open and hopped in, then leaned under the steering wheel to pull out two certain wires to try and start the engine.
"Hurry, Spain!" Romano said, staring with wide eyes along with the rest of us at the creatures that are quickly making their way to us.
America reached into his bomber jacket, then pulled out a shotgun. "We'll hold 'em off! But Romano's right, you better hurry!"
"Si, I'm going as fast as I can," Spain replied, and I would have looked over at him to see if he's making progress, but that action was completely forgotten once I saw another person who had grown wings fly overhead. Those razor-sharp wings flapped and moved sharply, but somehow wobbly, as if she were still getting used to flying. Then she let out a screech as she swooped down, her talon-like feet close to grabbing France.
He ducked right on time and those talons were only centimeters away from grabbing at his wavy hair.
I heard another cry and I looked over to see a man running over to us, however, he seemed to be in the middle of his own transformation. He had thick layers of metal covering the upper half of his back, the back of his neck, and over his head. The metal gave his back a hunched look and it looked as if the metal was shaped into a bull's head that covered the upper half of the man's head. Two long, sharp horns stretched from his temples. His legs were shaped strangely; they're partly in the shape of a bull's hind legs, as his hands had a metallic coating over them, shaping them into cloven hooves.
The man charged his way over, letting out a shout that sounded like the roar of a cow as he did. But instead of charging at us, he charged straight towards the creatures that are now too close for comfort.
They screamed as he rammed into them, his horns skewering through a few of them. 
I stared with wide eyes at the scene before me. Is...Is that guy protecting us?
My questioned was soon answered as he turned his head towards us and I saw his green eyes meet my gaze.
"I'll hold them off," his voice was weak, but I heard him. "You guys get somewhere safe, somewhere that's not here."
"Zhat's our plan," Prussia muttered, taking a few steps away from a woman walking towards him. However, that woman looked to be half horse, which shocked me. Seriously, her waist down took place of the body of a large horse. 
She's like a centaur!
That's so weird...are they transforming into some sort of mythical creatures? What kind of virus is this!?
She lifted an arm that had what looked like a bow attached to her wrist, and then she lifted her other hand. As she stretched out her fingers, I felt my jaw drop as I saw what looked to be arrows growing from the tips of her fingers.
She used her index finger and placed it into her bow, then aimed towards Prussia.
That's when the bull-like man let out a huff and a snort as he shook his head a bit, letting the body of a child with his own horns growing on his head slide off the large horns of the man. His horns dripped with blood that didn't really look like blood, but before I could take a better look at it, he dug one hoofed hand into the dirt once, twice, and then, letting out a roar, he charged towards the centaur-like woman just as she released her arrow.
Alice raised her hand towards that arrow and a blue light shot from her palm and flew at the arrow, but the light went straight through.
"Wha-" Alice couldn't finish and Prussia ducked just as the arrow zipped past his head and then struck into the side of the van behind him.
England shouted something in a language I can't understand as he raised two of his hands out. Just then, a bright green wall formed before us, a wall separating us from those creatures. However, that didn't stop them. They ran right through; the wall had no affect on them.
"Bloody hell," England growled.
Right then, the sound of an engine starting roared over the sounds of growls and shuffling.
The sound seemed to startle some of the creatures, for some of them let out hisses as they scrambled away from the van, their glares darting from us to the vehicle behind us.
"Get in! Vamos!" Spain called out. Germany was the first to get in, carrying Japan in with him. Italy and France climbed in seconds afterwards.
I glanced back over to the bull-like man that is protecting us from the creatures trying to get to us. He let out another snort as he faced the few creatures that remained. The rest either lay motionless on the ground or had retreated. 
I don't know who the man is, or where he came from, but right now, I silently prayed that he can fight off this disease and return to his home safe and sound.
Although that wish is nothing but an empty promise, I'm still thankful that the man is here.
He turned his head to look over at us, and his green eyes met mine once more.
"Thank you," I mouthed to him. He didn't respond, instead, he just faced another creature that dared to approach him as he heaved, his nostrails flaring, then charged towards it.
"Rosalie, get in!"
I glanced back to see that everyone had already piled into the van, and Romano was at the door, holding his hand out to me.
I leaped over and grabbed it, and he pulled me in just as Spain stomped his foot onto the gas. With a screech, the van took off, tearing its way through the small, empty parking lot.
I slammed the door shut behind me and then turned to find a place to sit, but I found out the hard way that this van isn't as big as we hoped, but it still fit us all.
"Oh, shi-" Lovino didn't finish as the van lurched and screeched as it turned abruptly, dodging the creature that leaped at the windshield. 
We all stumbled and practically rolled around in the back of the van as Spain made sudden turns as he dodged other cars and creatures as he made his way to the streets.
"Spain! Slow down!" Germany called out as he pressed his hand to the wall behind him to he wouldn't bounce around so much. Japan is still unconscious in his other arm, and his motionless body flopped around.
"I-I can't!" Antonio called back, "There are too many people chasing us!"
I managed to stand on my knees for a second, long enough to glimpse out the back windows to see that there are, indeed, multiple creatures chasing after us in speeds I never thought was possible for them to have because of the way their bodies are shaped, but they actually seem to be catching up with us.
"How fast are we going?" I asked loudly enough for Spain to hear me over the roar of the engine.
"Sixty miles per hour!" He called back.
No way. Those things are going sixty miles per hour!?
No, wait, only a few of them can really chase us that fast. The ones shaped like scorpions seem to be the fastest. They crawled after us so quickly that their limbs are blurred. Saliva dripped from their bared teeth as they ran after us. One of the bigger ones actually ran faster and even swiped her tail forward. It almost hit the window, causing me to jump back and away from it.
"You're gonna have to drive faster!" I all but shrieked, and in response, the engine roared louder as I felt the van go faster.
"What the hell is going on?" I heard Romano mutter and I glanced over to see him pressing his hand to his forehead.
"Something totally crazy, that's what," Oregon responded. 
"They can't be stopped by magic," England spoke up, then. "It has absolutely no affect on them whatsoever."
"Then what can stop them!?" America exclaimed as he stared with wide-eyes out the back windows.
"Germany's-a g-gun worked a little while ago," Italy stuttered as he curled up, wrapping his arms around his knees. 
"Weapons," Canada said with a nod. "Weapons have affect on them."
"Wh-What are they turning into, though?" I asked as I sat onto the floor of the vehicle. A few countries met my gaze as I continued, "I've only seen things like that in mythical stories and stuff."
"It is strange," England agreed. "Some of them are alike, too."
"Turn on the radio," Alice said, setting her hand onto the back of the passenger seat. "I want to know what's going on with the rest of the world."
Spain reached over and quickly found the button he needed, and then turned up the volume.
"-is overwhelming. The virus has infected many, causing them to transform into things we've never, in our time, witnessed before. Asia is almost completely infected-"
"Oh, no..." I heard France murmur, but the reporter continued.
"-as Europe and Australia are gradually doing the same."
"Bullocks," England growled.
"We have gained recent reports that the disease has spread into Canada and the North-Western part of America."
Alice covered her mouth, but couldn't stop her gasp.
"We have yet to find a cure or any known treatments to prevent the virus. Doctors have no idea how this virus spreads, or how to stop it."
I swallowed hard, but then Oregon quickly reached over and shut the radio off.
It was very silent for a few moments. The only sound there is was the engine and the tires as they sped down the roads, dodging anything in its path. 
Then Oregon pulled out her cell phone, dialing a number, then putting the phone up to her ear.
Her face is a bit pale and her expression revealed her worry. A sweat formed on her forehead as her eyebrows furrowed.
"C'mon, Willow, pick up..." I heard her mutter. Canada gently set his hand on her arm in order to comfort her, which probably didn't work very well.
Willow...she's the state of Washington. The state farthest in the North-Western region on America. 
Does that mean Washington is infected? And Oregon...she could be in danger of the virus, too. 
And Canada. My eyes darted to him. His face is pale also, and he also doesn't look very well. He's sweating lightly, his expression is dull with exhaustion, and his eyes looked slightly dilated and unfocused. His head is turned towards his wife and his wavy hair has shifted away form his neck.
My eyes widened when I saw what I almost expected; dark trails of his veins leading up his neck, and with the little light we have, I can see something on the back of his neck. I didn't know what it could be until light shined on it and it reflected it, so then I immediately knew it was metallic.
Canada is infected, too.
"Oh, no..." I murmured, and it seemed that a few countries heard my soft utter and looked over to me.
"You alright?" America was the first to speak up.
"Canada..." 
Canada, hearing his name, turned his head and he met my gaze.
"You're infected," I whispered, but apparently, everyone heard me loud and clear.
Alice had already stuffed her unanswered phone into her pocket, and now her wide eyes looked at Canada. "Wh-What..."
Canada made a soft sigh, then he pushed his hair aside for everyone to see the back of his neck, where the metal was growing.
"Non, Mattheu..." France said, instantly going to Canada's side, kneeling down beside him, and Canada looked over and met his former caretaker's sad gaze with his own.
"What? No. No no no," Oregon shook her head, grabbing onto Canada's hand tightly, "No, you can't...you can't be!"
"Dammit," America muttered, clenching his hands into fists. 
"Je suis désolé, Alice..." Canada whispered softly to his wife. "I can't stop it."
"How long?" She asked. Her voice was shaking slightly, and her eyes looked into his pleadingly. "How long have you...?"
"I noticed it only a day ago," he responded softly to her, shaking his head softly. "I-"
He couldn't finish as the van suddenly lurched and we ended up sliding forward as the van came to an abrupt halt.
"H-Hey!" England stuttered, "Spain!"
"S-Sorry, amigo." Spain responded. "The road..."
I recovered from my impact with a few other bodies and I rubbed my sore arm. Then I stood on my knees to peak over the driver's seat to see that to rest of the road before us is packed with crashed vehicles, and I can see several lifeless, bloody bodies...
One of those bodies had one of those creatures, the kind with the horns and what appears to be an animal skull covering the lower half of the face, hovering over the body. Its hands are digging into the open stomach, and with a hungered cry, ripped out flesh and entrails and then began stuffing them into its mouth.
But now as we had just screeched to a stop only a few feet away from it, its head looked over at it. Its eyes glared over at us, and, with blood and flesh dripping from its unseen lips, it stood and faced us.
"Drive away, drive away now!" I choked out, averting my gaze away from the creature and its half-devoured meal before I could start feeling sick.
Spain quickly pulled the gear into reverse and pulled the van back, then he quickly turned and drove away.
I looked over his shoulder to see the gas amount only to feel my stomach drop. We don't have much gas in this thing. It's not going to last very long...
"W-We should try to stop at a gas station," I suggested, breaking the silence that had quickly filled the small space. "We're low on gas."
"Si, th-that's a good idea," I heard Italy whisper. 
"Let's just hope it's safe enough to stop," England muttered.
I curled up a bit, shivering a bit after what I just witnessed. 
I just saw somebody eating someone else. Just like what happened to Hungary...
I shuddered. Does this infection turn people into cannibals, too?
I heard a soft groan and I glanced over to see Japan shifting slowly in Germany's grasp.
"Japan?" Italy knelt next to Germany, looking down at Japan. "How are-a you feeling?"
Japan didn't respond as his eyes fluttered open, but then he immediately grimanced in pain. Then he quickly sat up and leaned over to the side, the side Italy wasn't at, and began to puke.
"J-Japan-" Italy reached out, but then seemed to think better of it as he pulled his hand back.
Germany is supportively and somewhat awkwardly patting Japan's back. Once Japan finished heaving, he leaned back up, covering his mouth. He didn't meet any of our gazes and he actually looked a bit ashamed.
"I-I aporogize," he murmured, which was slightly muffled by his hand.
"Dude, don't apologize for puking," America said. 
"Ve should find a place to stop," Prussia spoke up. "Ve can't drive forever. Zhere has to be a safe place, right?"
"I hope so," Romano muttered, staring out the back windows.
Then the fetid smell of puke filled my nose and I couldn't help but to gag a bit. I'm glad I haven't eaten anything recently, or else I'd probably end up throwing up, too.
I swallowed hard, placing a hand over my mouth and nose. Then I glanced over at Canada to see that Oregon had fearlessly placed her head on his shoulder and he was softly stroking her hair.
I say fearlessly because I know now that Canada has the virus and could probably easily spread it; we have no clue how it spreads, which is what also scares me. It could be by air, by touch, by food and water. It could be practically anything.
So that could mean that even being near Canada could be dangerous for all of us in this small space.
I set my head into my hands.
There's nothing stopping all of us from getting infected and turning into those things.
As I gradually attempted to comprehend everything happening to the world around me, only one single thought managed to float its way into my mind:

What are we going to do?