Empire

Chapter 12

Ukraine's POV:

My head hurt as I opened my eyes weakly. I saw England standing above me, looking concerned. I couldn't really remember much, but I had a terrible headache which seemed to make everything fuzzy. I know something happened to me. I know it was gruesome. But I can't remember what it was.

"Oh thank god, you're alive," England let out a sigh of relief.

"Where, where am I?" I asked tiredly.

"I can't say I'm sure exactly, but you need to rest for a while," He explained. England picked up a small first aid kit and opened it.

"You wouldn't happen to have any painkillers, would you?" I asked.

"I can take a look," England said as he started looking through the kit. He eventually pulled out a small box and read it before popping out two pills and handing them to me.

"I will go get you some water, I'll be back soon," England said. He stood up and left the room, while I lay on the bed, not being able to think properly.

"Hello Ukraine," A sound played. I looked around the room to see where the voice was coming from.

"Who is there?" I asked when I couldn't find anyone in the room with me.

"I am your personal assistant, implanted into your head. The pain you feel now is normal, it will be gone soon but you cannot take the pills as it will mess with the programming," It responded.

"Um, okay? This is kind of weird. But can you make the pain stop now?" I asked.

"I cannot. The pain will stop on its own. However, the pain will increase in 10. 9. 8," It counted down.

"Wait wait! Don't increase!" I panicked.

"5. 4. 3. 2." It continued. And finally, it reached zero and I could feel severe pain run through my body. I yelled and started crying as it felt as if my body was on fire and stabbed repeatedly. I gripped the edges of the bed tightly as I tried to cope with the torturous pain.

"What's going on!?" England shouted as he ran into the room. I could barely speak through the pain.

"Pain will end in 20. 19. 18. 17." It began counting down again. It sounded promising. England started flicking through a first aid book frantically.

"12. 11. 10. 9."

The last count down seemed to go slower by every second that passed. I felt like passing out, but I couldn't.

"3. 2. 1."

And it stopped. The pain went away completely. I fell silent aside from my heavy breathing. England looked over at me with a concerned look. I felt dizzy, but numb at the same time. My entire body was sweating.

"Are- are you okay?" England asked nervously.

"I think so," I mumbled quietly.

"You should probably take the painkillers," England said, motioning to the two pills in my hand.

"NO!" Shouted the voice. Suddenly, I felt myself throw the pills across the room. I was not in control.

"Um... if you didn't want to take them, you could have just said, but you seemed to be in a lot of pain," England sighed.

"I'm feeling better now," I muttered.

"I would leave you to rest, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to leave. Canada didn't explain further," England said awkwardly. Something clicked in my head, and I felt terrified.

"Did you say Canada?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I can't be here! I need to leave!"

Samoa's POV:

I had been quietly observing Wales as he adjusted to his new life. I hope he keeps his mouth shut for his sake. I have seen too much sh!t go down in this cursed empire, but I had gained the trust of NZE. But the things I did to get to second in command make me sick to think about.

"Samoa, how has this Wales been adapting?" NZE asked from behind me. I was used to him popping out of nowhere by now. At least he didn't know who Wales really was... yet.

"I think this job was too confronting for him. Cleaning the 'Disciplinary' unit is usually given to the most trustworthy workers," I sighed.

"I know, but we needed someone else to do the job. Actually, while I'm thinking about it. Any updates on Papua New Guinea?" He asked.

"Well, yes. Angola reported that some super glue and duct tape went missing two days ago, they believe it must have been Papua or one of the escaped rebels," I explained.

"This is not going well. At least we still have New to deal with."

The very words made my skin crawl. NZE noticed this and looked down at me with a dark grin. I know what he wanted, but I hated the job.

"New isn't even doing anything wrong? Why do we do this to him?" I asked.

"Are you questioning my leadership?" NZE said darkly.

"No," I sighed.

"Good, then you know what to do." He smiled as he wandered off down another hallway. I let out a shaky sigh and headed into the 'Disciplinary' unit. Madagascar and Wales were cleaning the blood off of the floor. Wales seemed more than uncomfortable. I don't blame him.

"You had better not get the floor dirty again," Madagascar sneered.

"I have orders again, but I will try not to make a mess," I explained as I headed into the room in the furthest corner.

"Second round already?" New joked as I closed the door behind me.

"Please don't joke about this." I sighed as I walked over to him. He was falling apart at the seams, but wouldn't die. He refused to.

Cracks covered New's body and there were a few chips and chunks missing. It wouldn't have been concerning if we knew where the chunks were. But they disappear like someone is cleaning up the mess of his decaying body before he had time to die. The cleaners aren't allowed in this room, so it wasn't them.

"So what kind of torture is it this time? Will you take my other arm," He smiled weakly as he held up his one intact arm. I wasn't there when he lost his first arm, but I'm glad I didn't see it.

"No. That's a little unethical," I said.

"And torture isn't? I know you don't want to do this, and I know you are doing this to protect your brothers, so I won't struggle. It's a shame that we ended up on different sides. But until I'm dead, your side won't win," He smiled. It brought me some kind of happiness to hear that before I started this... job. I picked up a drill and a medium bottle of alcohol on the small table closest to the door and tested it to make sure the drill still worked.

"Hey, before you do this, I don't blame you for siding with them. It was a smart decision at the time." He sighed.

"You tell everyone that in pathetic hope to gain sympathy, I am not fooled, New."

"I know. You were always a smart boy,"