When in doubt...Drink the worries away (Raivis)

It had been a rather spontaneous decision to run when they heard something move in the shadows. Norway had set of with all his might, looking behind him to ensure Latvia was following and not having fallen too far behind, seeing as in their hurry and confusion Austria had some how gotten lost, Norway didn't want to risk loosing another nation. Perhaps he simply had spotted a better hiding place...or someone else he knew
Norway didn't really have any time to worry about the Austrian nation. He had been around for several wars.He could take care of himself...Ocasionally Norway pulled Latvia after him, not wanting to end up completley alone again.

Norway tried several doors, but to his dismay they where all locked. It wasn't after several doors later that they finally found one that wasn't locked. Norway pushed Raivis inside and locked the door.
He then turned to inspect the shop, hand on the knife in his pocket, ready to fight if anything dangerous showed up inside the store.
But the only thing Norway could see was bottles upon bottles...of...alcohol? Erik blinked a few times. Perhaps this wasn't the most useful of stores...although a drink was very tempting.
He turned to face Raivis, smiling slightly "Whatever that was...I'm fairly sure we've lost it...along with Austria...fuck" Erik was mostly talking to himself, trying to come up with some good plan on what to do next. However, his mind was rahter blank. He really wnted to summon a troll, or even a Nisse would be nice, anything that could offer some sort of sence of familiarity.

He turned to Raivis...Latvia was not a nation he knew very well. Occasionally when he had meetings with Russia he would spot Raivis, the poor boy having been dragged along by Russia, but they where both fellow nations and the important thing was at the moment to stick together, find others and get the hell out of this place. He walked over to the shelves of liqueur, examining the labels. He turned around to Latvia "Help me look around for anything useful...you need a weapon of some sorts..." the tone of his voice was much more stern than he had intended it to be. Norway went back to rummaging behind the counter, but only found a few bottle openers. "This is no good. You find anything useful Raivis?"

There had been something watching them. This realization came as a surprise to Latvia, weirdly enough since he had kind of developed a sixth sense after living with Russia, making him know if someone watched him. Only, this time it probably hadn’t been a “someone” as the shuffling of a body (not human, that’s for sure) reached their ear. Next moment they were already running. Erik had grabbed him and Raivis was left stumbling after trying to keep up with other nation as they ran down the abnormal quiet street.

The last thing Latvia wanted to be was being left behind. The feeling of being alone and watched made him feel like an incredible easy prey. He didn’t even have a weapon to fight whatever they were running from of! The feeling of eyes following them down the street never fully disappeared as Norway made some stops to pull at random doors; none of them letting them find escape in the seemingly dead houses. Austria had been lost somewhere, but Latvia didn’t worry (he didn’t let himself worry). Austria was a tough nation if his impression was right. He could hopefully manage on his own. But there was a strange thought that wouldn’t let go as Latvia thought of the bad luck they had. The monster (or whatever it was) could have attacked at any other time. Why would it attack when there were three nations? Instead of hunting them down when they were alone?

Latvia wasn’t able to continue that train of thought as one of the doors Erik tried actually went up, and he was pushed in by the same nation, Norway locking whatever that was after them outside. At first it was hard to see what kind of room they had taken escape into, but as Latvia realized where they were… he wasn’t sure what to feel.

It was a liquid store. Fully filled with bottles of (wonderful, sweet) alcohol. It had been long ago since he last saw this much in the same place. Not many knew about his liking to alcohol, and even less knew that he was anything but a lightweight. Something he actually didn’t like. It would be so much easier forgetting things and get drunk if he wasn’t such a heavy drinker.

Norway talking made he force himself from looking at the bottles, and answered the others smile with one of his own, just more nervous. “I-I’m sure Mr. Austria is alright…” He found himself stuttering, to comfort himself too (and he wasn’t even sure that Norway had heard him). He followed Erik’s example and started to look around the store. Barley noticing himself as he slipped some bottles into his jacked. (What? It could be used to fuel a fire… or to calming. He really needed calming right now. )

He picked up a middle-sized bottle, with some kind of alcohol swirling tempting inside as he moved it. He really needed to find something useful; as he heard the others voice getting strained. The other was probably as messed up of what was happening, and Raivis suddenly felt like breaking down, tears gathering and the bottle started to shake in his hand.

Right now they were fine, but what about the other nations? Why were they here!? Raivis wiped his eyes a bit, and stared at the bottle in his hand. Just then Norway called out again, and he walked over the where the other was, bottle still in hand. “I… don’t really find anything… How about you--” Latvia cut himself of and looked at the bottle openers and picked one up, slowly taking of the lid of the bottle. The feeling of being watched was creeping back, or maybe it was just his paranoia getting to him after all this. With a hesitant movement of his hand, he took a quick swig and shuddered at the familiar burning sensation taking away a bit of his worry. What could one drink do anyway?

Norway was muttering curses under his breath. Of all the god damn doors that he tried, the only one that would open and offer them some safety was a stupid useless liquor store! The only good the store could offer where some pretty sturdy looking metal gates they could pull down in front of the windows and doors. Norway decided it was best to do this now, while everything still seemed fairly quiet outside - he'd seen enough zombie horror movies to know that to be prepared for the worst was what saved your life later. Also; no premarital sex or disturbing ancient burial grounds...that was never good either. His own people had a thing for horror movies set in the snowy mountains...okay so the trolls and huldras lived there, but seriously, Zombie Nazis? Norway had laughed through the entire movie, one for it being such a ridiculously silly idea, and two; the violence was so over the top it was funny. And the world had now suddenly turned into a horror movie - the same rules where bound to apply...

Apart from the endless unopened bottles, this store was useless in terms of anything that could be used as a weapon. Bottle openers where useless; Completely. Utterly. Useless!
It was frustrating Erik more and more. Damn those new air plane baggage laws, if not for them he'd have his hunting knife on him, or at least the nice Swiss army knife Switzerland gave him for his last birthday....really...the world was going to hell.

Latvia seemed to have had no luck either with finding anything useful. So far bottle openers where the only find, wasn’t this place in America? Didn’t every store have a gun? Norway sighted and looked at the now opened bottle Latvia was holding. Was he seriously thinking about drinking now? In this horrible situation?
That was a terrible-----

No.
A good idea actually! All this stress! A drink would surely take the edge away - well damn. He was sounding like a right alcoholic now. Oh well, world gone to hell, might as well drink to make it more fun.
He grabbed a bottle of what appeared to be Danish Aquavit...hmmm not at all bad, he mused to himself. Unscrewing the cork he turned to Latvia again. "Well, might as well drink since we're here." he raised the bottle up "Skål!" and putting the flask to his lips, took two big gulps of the golden liquor, smiling as he felt the warming effect of the alcohol take a hold of him. Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all...
Erik sank down to the floor, leaning against the wall. "Right, it seems to be getting dark, and without a flashlight, we're blind in the dark, might as well stay here for the night. It's safe...and warm. And, it has alcohol" Norway grinned and took another swig of the bottle "and alcohol is a very good thing" Erik had never really been out drinking with Raivis, but he had heard stories, and frankly it did surprise him. Latvia was rather small, so him being a heavy drinker would be like someone telling him Russia hated vodka…it just didn’t really… make sense. Then again, ha talked to creatures no one else could see – who was he to judge.
“After we’ve rested we can look for a trap door or something, this place might have a basement…”

It was really getting darker outside, just as Erik had said, Raivis thought as he casted a glance outside of the mildly dusty windows. It almost felt unreal that the night was coming, with how empty the town was it was like even time had left this place. Running away from whatever that had been hunting them. Thinking about the monsters lurking in the streets outside the store made a numb shudder go through his body.
When looking outside once more, he could almost imagine something moving the shadows across the street. Or was it just imagination? Latvia stayed put and scanned the alleyway, but the movement he thought he saw was gone. He shook his head and let his eyes drop from the shadow filled darkness laying around, growing a small bit ever second. Maybe he was getting a little bit too tipsy. Yes, it had to be the alcohol that made him see things. Just as it was the alcohol that stopped him from freaking out.

Erik seemed to have seen his reasoning of drinking as the other took a bottle from where he was standing. With Norway smiling Latvia let himself feel a bit more to ease. It seemed like the things (plural yes, he had decided that it couldn’t be just one monster) wouldn’t be able to get inside as long as the door held. So it would be best staying here for the night, since it would be no surprise if the things liked darkness more than light. Latvia took another swig of the bottle, to get away the growing sense of unawareness. They really didn’t know anything about the enemies. And knowledge was one of the most important things in battle, though he doubted that anyone would want to go out and check what the hell those things were.
“It probably is best if we stayed here…” he agreed with Norway while walking around a bit in the room, avoiding looking outside as much as possible. The bottle he had was already empty, signaling how nervous he felt. But he chose with his better comprehension to not take out and open another bottle (not now at least). To get fully drunk would be really, really bad, no matter how tempting it was.
And Norway was right. It was best to look after some kind of basement or hidden room (in a store like this it was sure to have that, or at least a backdoor). If they would need to escape, and he really hoped it would stay a “if”, it would be good getting a plan over how things looked.

He continued to walk around, but now more carefully looking after some kind of difference in the floor or walls. Anything hinting that it could be a trap door hiding somewhe----
The thought stopped just as abruptly as him walking, as his foot caught onto a heightening in the floor at a corner, making him fall face down with a loud bang. A whine escaped before he could stop it and he rubbed his arm at a place where he knew a bruise was forming. The glass bottle in his hand was intact though, he realized as he unconsciously had protected it when he fell. He looked back at the place that had made him fallen, and noticed the slight height difference. “I-I think I found something…”

Norway was quite content with sitting on the floor with his bottle of liquor. sure the place was dusty, dirty, and Erik was sure he'd gotten pieces of glass imbedded into his coat by now, but never mind that...the alcohol was warming him up and calming him down. From waking up this morning under a coffee table (he still felt a bruise if he touched his head...) to being chased by something unknown...drinking was perhaps not the sanest thing to do in this situation. But all the stress and worry building up in both nations, Norway assumed it was possibly better to have some alcohol in his system before they continued. And...if they drank enough, they might even be able to fall asleep..

While Latvia walked around the store, Norway just followed him with his half closed eyes, more listening to Raivis' footsteps and the sounds outside. In darkness, eyes where useless, so listening became a very useful skill.

With a sudden motion Norway was on his feet the second he heard Latvia fall down. But his nerves calmed down when he saw Raivis had only stumbled on something on the floor. Walking over he bent down to examine what exactly had made the shorter nation trip.
"I think you most certainly did Latvia" Norway smiled as he used his hand to get rid of the thick layer of dust coating the floor. Erik spotted a thick metal ring imbedded to the floor, and what appeared to be a hatch. "Well well...our luck just might have turned for the better Raivis"
Taking a good hold and pulling with all his might, Norway got the floor hatch open with a loud creaking sound. Peering into the dark basement with suspicion he got up again and went to the back of the counter. “Spotted…light switch..” he mumbled to himself as he fumbled behind the counter for the small switch. Finding it he flicked it on, making the basement light up. Walking back to the open hath he again peered down. There where more crates and bottles of alcohol down there, that was easy to tell, and not surprising. But Norway caught a sight of something he did want. A rug-sack. That could be a useful thing to have to carry things in.

Norway turned to Latvia and patted the other nation on the back “Well done. There’s bound to be a gun or something down there…you did well. Now to find a ladder so we can get down this hole…”

Raivis was slightly glad that his clumsiness came to use for once as Norway inspected the seemingly dust-covered trapdoor. The next thing he heard was the creak as the Nordic nation lifted a part of the floor up, revealing a dark hole underneath. The compact darkness he saw from his spot further away made him shudder, but curiosity won as he crept over the dusty floor. Still nothing could be seen down into the basement, and Erik rose up. Soon after Latvia could hear the soft click of light and he had to close his eyes from the sudden light up coming from downwards. There seemed to be a storeroom or something down there.

Surely they would find something, anything, useful down there… Now the only problem was getting down. Or maybe… Latvia thought as he judged the distance, they would be able to jump down. The only thing was getting up again. Latvia leaned down a little bit more to get a better look at the room. It seemed to as big as the one they were in… or even bigger? Maybe the light was just playing a trick on his eyes. Or it could be the alcohol. As he felt himself wobble Raivis pulled away from the basement, not wanting to fall down. He rose up from the floor and tried to brush some dust from his knees. This place was really weird. No one had seemed to live here for a very long time (had it even been people here at all?), but still everything worked.

Raivis jolted a bit in surprise as he felt the pat on his back. He wasn’t really spoiled with getting praised, so it made him happy. Glancing around the room he looked to find something like a ladder, so that they wouldn’t have to jump down. There had to be some somewhere around here that the inhabitants that (hopefully) had lived here before had used. It kind of felt important to get down to that storeroom. Or maybe this occupation was just something to keep him from thinking of bad things. Like the monsters lurking outside, just waiting for a chance to get in and…

Latvia shook his head, as a shudder shot through the body. Was the alcohol already wearing of? He tried to concentrate back at finding a ladder. It should be somewhere easy to find, logically. But logic didn’t really matter here as it seemed. And the darkness didn’t exactly make things easier. “I-I can’t really see anything…” He admitted and turned back at Norway. “How about you?”

There seemed to be a serious lack of anything to use to get down into the basement. Norway massaged his temples, trying to find a solution to this problem. He really didn't want to jump down, only to discover there was no way out again. Leaning over the hole in the floor again he surveyed the basement again. There where a lot of wooden crates - full of bottles he presumed...that gave him an idea
"Well...I can't see anything that will make this simple, but those crates, once we're down there, we can build a make-shift staircase...that's all I can think of anyway so far. If that fails, you stand on my shoulders and then you'll help me up afterwards...sound good?" Norway gave Latvia a small smile, trying to reassure the Baltic nation that things would work out. Even if he had his own doubts.

After a few more minutes of examining the room below them, Norway decided it was better to stop stalling, grabbing a hold of the sides of the trap-door hole, he swung himself down. Standing in the middle of the basement he observed his surroundings, hand firmly around the kitchen knife...just in case something was hiding in the shadows, but when he still couldn't see anything he lifted his head and beckoned Raivis to come down and join him - two people would be needed to move some of these crates he decided. "Coast's clear Raivis, you can come down now" Norway moved to observe the backpack he'd seen earlier, finding it to his liking he slung it over his back and continued to look around the basement. There was a lot more alcohol stored down here, but he'd lost interest in that now. He found half-empty box of matches and a small coil of rope...and a lot more bottle openers. Sighting he placed the matches, rope and one bottle opener in the backpack. The knife he still decided was better kept in his pocket, much easier to get to - should the situation arise.

Erik turned to Raivis, curious if the other nation had found anything of use. He was hoping there would be a gun and ammunition somewhere, or perhaps just a knife - something that could induce some harm if needed. But Norway had yet to find anything. This was frustrating...
He was just about to ask Latvia is he had found anything before he registered something lying on the floor in the corner. "Hey! Raivis! look!" Erik pointed rather excitedly over to the corner "A crowbar!"
With a few brisk steps Norway was already over by the new found object, smiling to himself as he picked the crowbar up, examining it. It seemed to be fairly old and used, but it was still sturdy, and could perhaps help them open a few doors. Or break some windows...
Norway turned to Latvia again, crowbar slung over his shoulder, like he would have done with a heavy battle axe during his viking days, it was comforting having something heavy and metal resting on his shoulder, but if Raivis hadn't found anything he'd hand it over to the shorter nation, Latvia could use something to protect himslef with, if tehy got seperated it would be bad if he was stuck with nothing at all "so...did you find anything?"

Norway had seemed to think of the same way he did before, so Raivis quickly agreed with his plan of jumping down. Though he was still a bit nervous and doubtful (but when wasn’t he?). Well, he felt like he could trust Norway, so it would surly work out in some way. He watched as Norway flung it himself down to the basement and then scanned the basement carefully from down there. Raivis also looked around the nation anxiously; what if there was something down there? But when Norway called to him, he let himself calm down and carefully jumped down.

Norway seemed to have found some things of use so Raivis started to look around by himself. There was much more alcohol down here than up in the store. It also was as if there was just one of each type. Like someone had taken alcohol from the entire world, instead of being concentrated on one part. It made Raivis once again wonder where they were, in what country. Usually you would be able to find something pointing out the nation, a flag or something. But once he thought it through, he hadn’t seen a single flag during this whole time.
It was as if this was a town designed for neutrality.

Latvia walked around, looking carefully after just anything. It didn’t look like someone lived here, but it was still a liquid store for god’s sake. There should be some kind of weapon lying around… or actually it should be hidden but easy to get to. He sighted and then looked up to see a closed cupboard on the wall. It wasn’t locked at least, and inside he found sandwiches. At first Latvia heightened an eyebrow. Why would there be… If not the ones who had worked in the store had fixed these before for lunch or something. Well, they didn’t seem bad. From the corner of his eyes Raivis could suddenly see something being reflected in the light.

It was a small dagger, about the size of his hand. He picked it up and inspected the blade, smiling as he realized it was still sharp and not the least rusty.
Latvia didn’t have any more time looking as he heard Noway call and he made his way back to the other. He could feel himself smiling as the Nordic nation pointed at the crowbar and then went to pick it up. It was probably the first time Latvia had seen him as excited as Erik lifted the (probably) heavy crowbar and put it on his shoulder. Norway could probably handle it with ease, seeing how used he was to holding it. Raivis doubted that he would be able to use it as good.
He held up his founds. “Found some food that seems okay, and a dagger.” He said and smiled as he showed the knife he held in his hand.

Norway looked at the food Raivis had found with a slight questionable look...that was odd. The food where he had woken up had been covered in dust, yet this seemed to be in perfect order...not creepy at all. Or was it really that odd? Erik hadn't really seen anything wrong with the food in the coffee shop, apart from that it was covered in dust... Picking up the small dagger, Norway ran his finger over the edge, deeming it still fitting for use he handed it back to Latvia with a smile. "Very good. That should do nicely for you....but the food...bit suspicious about it...it's as if" Norway stopped to find the right words for a second "as if someone just made them...but so much dust...this doesn't make sense.." Running a hand through his hair he looked over at the smaller nation "Any thoughts about what's going on here?"

Sighting at the situation they had ended up in, Norway handed Latvia the backpack "Here, pack as much of the food as you can into this...You never know, might come in handy...and as long as we have space, carrying it in this won't do me any harm."
Erik started shifting some crates around, trying to create a make shift stair-case for them both. It was odd how there was no ladder at all...whoever had worked here...how did they get down and up? It was like a bad horror movie of some sorts - a trap. But why? What was the motive of bringing nations here? In a town that seemed so well equipped, yet lacked - vital - things. This was not how Norway had planned to spend the world meeting...
Some crates where more or less empty, other where a lot heavier to move - Norway decided to avoid those if he could - using up too much energy might be a bad idea. He was truthfully worried something might lurk in the shadows..those corners where the light just didn't reach no matter what.

The crowbar was also use full for leverage...and some of the crates had been nailed shut. Erik was certain that if any of the crates seemed to have anything of interest in them, it would be easy to open them up. He glanced over at Raivis "Hey...Latvia...If you see any crates marked with something...tell me...if they might contain something useful, it might be worth opening them" A flashlight, a gun...anything...walkie talkies. Erik really hoped they could find more nations. He hadn't worked or talked much to Latvia - and he was a bit unsure how the smaller nation would react if they actually had to fight. Okay...the guy had been under Russia for...a while. He was bound to not be completely useless - but still Erik really wanted to find the other Nordics. Nations he had known for centuries. Nations he had fought beside (and sometimes against)...they knew each others figthing styles - it was safer with them, much, much safer.

Raivis nodded as Norway gave the food and his dagger back. He thought back at the time when he woke up in the town. It had been in a locked room, but it wasn’t as if someone had locked him in. There had been a slight layer of dust on the floor, but no footprints that signaled that someone had left him there. The one who lived in that house and those who had worked in the liquid-store, Latvia added in his thoughts, it didn’t even seemed like they just packed up and left. It was just like they disappeared in thin air, or like shadows meeting light. He decided to voice the last part of his thoughts. “I-I don’t really get it… I don’t either get when the people here left, or h-how. It’s like the people here just d-disappeared.”

Taking the bag, Ravis stuffed the food down, hoping it would be of use. Even though he secretly wished it wouldn’t be, since that meant that it would take time for them to figure out what the hell was going on, and go home. The small dagger slipped down into his pocket, a bit of it sticking up so that if something happened, he could get it up in less than a moment. It was something he had learnt living in a country where you couldn’t trust anyone. Latvia shook his head trying to get that special feeling creeping up go away. The one that made him trust only himself, that numb and cold feeling he hated.

As soon he was done he walked over to where Norway had begun making a stair, holding the bag. Somehow it felt like it
was best to keep their things close by, if they had to run. He put it down as he pushed one of the craters to help Norway in the making of a make-shift stair. Just as Erik he soon felt that some of the barrels were heavier than other and avoided them. He took one of the craters and put it on top of another, though not without problem. If you climbed up first on one of the barrels and then the others you could probably almost come up. It would still be a little too high for Raivis. Maybe if he reached or jumped he could manage… but that seemed too risky. He looked over to Norway, just as the other casted a glance towards the corners of the room. “D-did you see something?” Looking away from the darkness himself, he made out a movement in the corners of his eyes. Or? Had there been a movement? He wasn’t quite sure.

Raivis felt like grabbing Norway’s arm, like he always did with his older brother when he got anxious. But that feeling quickly melted away as he made it clear for himself that he barely knew Norway. Before this, if anyone had asked him to describe Norway’s personality he wouldn’t be able to answer. (Not that he could do it now either.) He wished his brothers were here… or maybe it was the best that they weren’t? If Latvia was with the other Baltics, he would probably rely on them, so maybe it was better like this. Where he had to fight for himself. It was so after all, if you had someone you had to protect, it was easier to be strong and brave. But it also worked the other way around. If you had someone you knew could protect you it’s easier to get scared and let your guard down. So it was probably better this way.

Erik frowned "To be honest...to me it seems like everyone just turned to dust" he snapped his fingers "just like that" Glancing around the room "if that is what happened...it would explain all the dust inside the stores and houses..." a rather morbid though, but this was just like a terrible nightmare, Norway couldn't help but be slightly pessimistic and morbid. There was no sign of panick...no sign that it had been abandoned for years -except the dust...but the dust wasn't normal dust...To Norway it looked more like ash mixed in with dust. And to build u such a layer of dust..would take..well..years. But when he had woken up in teh coffee shop, he knew he hadn't slept for that long! It was terrefying - Norway hated not knowing what was going on around him. He wanted to find a way out of this nightmare - go home..tend to his garden and go skiing...

Norway scrambled on top of the first crate "Hand me another one will you Raivis? I think we'll be able to then get out without having to jump too far" Standing on top of the two crates would mean Norway could stretch his arms up and grab a hold of the edge of the trap door hole - but if they added another crate, it would be slightly easier to get out, Latvia was also a good deal shorter than Erik, the less he had to jump would probably be better.

When he was satisfied the crates where in their right position he smiled at Latvia and brushed off some dust from his clothes "Well that went well..."
Staring into the shadows he blinked, trying to see if there really was something
"no...nothing" he swallowed, something...well...he wouldn't say something was there, more like soemthing HAD been there "Come on Raivis, let's get out from here..." He reached down and grabbed the backpack and crowbar before climbing onto the first crate, he offered his hand to Latvia, and pulled Raivis up on the crates with him, climbing out of the hole and bending down to make sure Latvia got out fine - as well as making sure nothing followed them out of the hole...he had a bad feeling about the whole town...
He peered down the hole and then got an idea "hey...Latvia, grab a hold of my legs, I'm going to topple over the crates..if something IS down there...I want it to STAY there"
perhaps that was why there had bee no ladder....something was trapped down there? but why hadn't it made any move? Or where they being overly paranoid?
He decided to voice his thought to Latvia "I think...there might be a reason there was no ladder down there...I don't know why whatever down there never made a move...but I could...sense it. if that makes sense to you...if something really is there, I don't want to have given it a staircase....what do you think?"

As Norway gave his theory of the unnatural dust-layer lying around, Raivis felt slightly nauseous. But it was somehow still complete logic. Well, how logic things could be here. It made him wonder even more what had happened with the people living here, how they had been turned to dust if that was the case. And also… what would happen to them if they stayed too long in this town? “T-that seems correct… I just w-wonder who or w-what that made t-this h-happen...” Raivis involuntary shuddered and looked around the room, as if he expected dust-spirits rise from the ground as the stores former inhabitants. He didn’t have a particular fear for ghost, but was not in favor for them either.

He lifted up a mildly light crater and gave it to Norway, the other making it the last piece in their stair. This made Latvia feel a little more relived, and he hadn’t even realized how tensed he had been. Apparently the fear of being stuck down here had been in the back of his head all the time.

He accepted the help and got up on the first crater. And waited as Norway went up first looking around in the room once more. Maybe the best would be just close his eyes, since every time he looked at a corner the shadows seemed to have increased. But it was not only the things he saw that made him worried. It was also the sound of something… almost like scratching or a small animal walking around with claws dragging over the floor. But the sound was so quiet he couldn’t make out if it was imagination or real.

Jolting from Norway’s voice Latvia nodded a bit enthusiastic. “I t-think we’re done down here… I’ll come up now.” Raivis too started to climb up, not trying to think of anything that might be following, but still straining his ears to hear something. Norway was right, why hadn’t whatever being down there attacked them. Not that he wasn’t grateful for it, but it was kind of unsettling. Animals (thinking of the things as animals made it so much easier) had better instincts when it came to danger. What it they stayed back because there had been something other, more dangerous, creature near? Maybe… his thoughts got back at the monster that had chased them when they had been forced to flee before.

Well, it was still better the things belonging in the basement stayed there. He did as Norway told and took a hold of the other legs, first kind of hesitantly. “I don’t w-want anything t-trapped down here come up… so it’s probably f-for the best if we destroy this 'stair'.”

Erik frowned even more at the though of what or who had done this to a town. "Whatever it was...I'd like to get as far away from it as possible...for once...Nuke's sounds like a good idea...if we knew where this town is..." He scratched the back of his head and sighted. This was all becoming more and more like a nightmare...a twisted and realistic nightmare. He doubted any form of electronics worked in this place, his own was not even on him, he presumed whatever had ‘abducted’ him and removed it, along with anything considered a weapon. Norway was not happy about fighting an unseen enemy...it made planning much more difficult. He didn't even know if what they where up against where, humans, animals...or magical creatures. Most likely, it would be some sort of magic involved, seeing as he still had not been able to summon any of his trolls or 'nisse' friends...something was 'blocking' his own magic

Leaning over the edge with his torso and stretching down towards the crates with his arms he managed to topple over the first crate, a few whacks with the crowbar sent the rest of them tumbling over and down onto the duty floor, empty 'thuds' echoing in the basement as small clouds whirled up before settling down again, erasing some of their footprints

Something moved and Erik scrambled as much as he could to get up from the hole.
"Quick! Get pull me up!" He was terrified now. He couldn’t see what it was, but something was there...and he did not want to stay to figure out what.

His hear was beating faster than normal, adrenalin pumping through his veins so fast he could almost hear the blood rushing through his body with every panicked heart beat. Whatever was down there...definitely was nothing friendly or good




(sorry for making you wait to long...life's been getting in the way)

“I just want this town to disappear…” Raivis agreed with Norway about the nuking, it would be best if this town could just disappear from the face of the earth. No one would miss it anyway… since no one knew where it was. And no one knew that they were here. How was this possible anyway? A town completely sealed off from the world, enough so that no one could find them. Of course, he hadn’t seen the outside of “here”, but he doubted it was anything. Otherwise you would have been able to hear something; a train in the distance, a plane flying in the sky….

Raivis watched Norway lean down again, and held tightly around his legs. The last thing he wanted was for Norway to fall down, as he had got a really bad feeling from the basement. He heard the crates fall down with subdued sound hitting the floor. If the sound of some barrel crashing made him flinch, the sudden panic in Erik’s voice was enough to make him jump.

He quickly helped the other Nation away from the hole and at the same time heard shuffling down the room. He couldn’t help the curious uneasiness he felt and crawled to the side, looking down into the room. At first he saw nothing, a cargo (filled with wine he guessed from the smell) had broken and liquid was running over the floor. But there was a movement, and it made him shrug back.

Around the shore that became from the wine, there were movements, many movements, and hissing from small creatures that kept away from the growing lake. At first glance it seemed like it was rats, but they were slightly bigger, and the bodies resembled more of bugs. It was a hideously mix, and Raivis wondered why he hadn’t seen them before, but realized that the colour they had, a slight dark-grey-brown blend, made a perfect camouflage against the floor. They had probably already begun climbing when they toppled the cargoes over. “T-they can’t come u-up here… right?” he asked Norway, really hoping that that would be the case.





(Well, life tends to do that… been kinda busy myself^^")

"I would certainly be for the best..." this place was creepier than anything else in the world. And no matter what, Norway was adamant at getting gout of here, if it meant losing and arm, he wouldn't give up until he was safe and sound in his own house in his own country. God damn meetings, could they not just convert to video meetings? Technology had gotten so good by now anyways..and for gods' sake, it would save them all so much time


Norway scrambled up from the hole, trying to calm his panicked breathing. Whatever that was, it was not good at all. after a shot moment his breathing was back to normal and he crawled back toward the hole and Latvia, peering in to the basement and the nasty...creatures.
"what the fuck is those things...?" he asked out loud before turning to Raivis to answer the smaller nation's question.
"I'm not sure, but let's close this latch----" Erik then suddenly had an idea and a small smirk crossed his face.
"I have a plan...but it might be dangerous....still..." He stood up and peered once more down into the basement before hading over to the shelves of alcohol twisting the cap of a bottle of vodka and sitting down next to the hole. "Moltov Cocktail....want to see how much those little fucker's can handle?"
it was perhaps very dangerous, as alcohol burned quickly and fiercly...but if they let one or two into the basement and then ran like hell out of here, they would one: know how much those little monster's could handle, and two: it might draw attention to other nations outside and about.

Negatives on the other hand included that it might draw the attention of any things outside...but fire was likely to make nasty things shy away. and to be honest...Norway really wanted to cause some mayhem and noise in this dead town...see how dead this place REALLY was.
"Now...if we light this and throw it down there, then close the latch and run like hell out of here...we might find more people...make some noise" it was a stupid and dangerous idea...but an idea none the less.

Raivis kept check on the creatures glaring up at him, shuddering at the sharp claws scraping the floor. He could barley hinder his imagination of what it would like if the things got to them. There was another shudder at the thought and he forced his eyes away from the hole and looked at Norway instead, almost being chocked as he saw that he was smiling, well smirking, but still showed that he had some kind of plan.His thoughts were confirmed and Raivis looked curiously after Norway as he wondered what the Nordic was planning. Though when Norway took the bottle of Vodka he had already understood what the other was aiming at.


“A…make-shift bomb, you mean?” he asked even though he knew, and once again looked down at the creatures. With all the alcohol down there it would be a hell of explosion,and if the fire spread and got up to where they were too… well, it would not be the smallest of fires. He went a bit doubtful at first with that thought but just had to send a glance to the angry mass below to decide. If a monster like them wouldn’t, hopefully, survive such a fire it would be a great knowledge. And he had a feeling that those thing didn’t really like fire or light for that matter. He also, on a further note, just wanted those things gone and out of this world, gaining the attention of possible allies outside would also help.


“L-Let’s do it…” He heard himself say, rising up and out of view from the hole, earning some angry hissing from the creatures below. They were probably angry that their preys had gotten away. Looking outside the windows it was completely still and not even a movement made from his imagination. You could never know truly, but it seemed safe “There is nothing more… we need from here right?” Well, except the alcohol… it would be sad leaving all of it to go up in flames, but necessary.The hissing rose to something that could be called a screech, so loud that Raivis wasn’t sure he would dare to look down once more. He pulled a breath to calm himself. Getting scared again would help.


“I think we have to do it now…”

Norway nodded at Latvia as the smaller nation caught onto his plan. "Indeed, a make-shift bomb of sorts"
He got up from the floor again, leaving the opened bottle of vodka next to the hole. Walking over to the shelves again, he started looking for the ones with the most alcohol contents. Quite a few Russian vodka's from the very top shelf where almost close to illegal amounts of alcohol contents, Norway just smiled as he gathered as many as he could in his arms before returning to Raivis.

"No, we don't need much more, but help me stuff as many of these in the backpack, just in case we'll need any 'bombs' outside this store" he left Latvia to pack the backpack while he set to opening six bottles of vodka, cutting some thin strips of the kitchen towel from the coffee shop and carefully stuffing the strips down the neck of the bottle. Turning the bottle upside down carefully, Norway managed to soak the entire strip of cloth in alcohol, before setting it aside and starting the process all over again. Once done he stood closer to the hole and peered down at the hideous hissing creatures at the bottom. Those things sure as hell where nasty, it was lucky they got out of there when they did. Unlocking the store door, but leaving it closed, Norway decided was the best bet at the moment, just in case something unwanted saw them before they had a chance to set fire to the store. Truth be told, he was rather excited about doing this, adrenaline was already pumping through his veins – it would be just like the old times, raiding villages and setting fire to things they didn’t need or particularly care for. The added bonus of getting rid of some horrendous monstrosities just made the whole thing very much better.

Fumbling in his pocket for his matches, Erik handed two of the bottles to Raivis, before picking up three in-between his fingers, holding the neck of the bottles close together as he could. "Right, I light these up and drop them down, once they hit the floor, light yours and throw them down to, then we'll close the hatch, grab the last opened bottle, and run like hell, you good with that?" He waited for Latvia’s confirmation before continuing.
“Once we’re outside, we’ll run a few blocks down, see if we can get to the top of a roof or something, that way we’ll be able to either spot other nations or other creatures, and it should be good vantage point once this place goes up in flames” Erik grinned, if this didn’t help them find some more people, they might as well consider themselves the only ones here.

Norway got the match burning at the first try, guiding it carefully to the bottles in his hand, letting the alcohol-soaked fabric burn a bit before he dropped the bottles down the hole with loud sounds of glass breaking and the unmistakable crackling sound of fire burning. The loud shrieks of those creatures just added to the chaos, and Erik could feel a smirk spreading across his face. ‘Take that you creepy fuckers’
Handing the still burning match to Raivis, Erik made sure the backpack was secured to his back before leaning down to grab a hold of the trapdoor, ready to close it once Latvia had thrown his own bottles down.

He took the bottles Norway gave him, slowly putting them down into the bag careful not to break them. They were almost pure alcohol so the fire would be great, no doubt of it.And hopefully it would kill those creepy bastards hissing at them from under.He tested lifting the bag, it was pretty heavy right now, but that was perfectly fine. They would still be able to run with it, and he knew that bottles of these sorts were not going to break by just running with them. So it would be fine.


Norway had finished making the "bombs" and the six bottles stood like a small army at the floor, ready to be used. They smelled heavily from the vodka seeping into the cloth, almost intoxicating, but Raivis was used to this smell and it didn’t bother him. He still followed Norway with his eyes as the other unlocked the door and then switched his eyes to the windows. Still no movement outside. It felt as if time stood still outside the shop, different from the inside which was spurring with lives from the creatures. He hoped the makeshift-bombs would put more movement into this ghost town. (Well, they hadn’t actually been seeing any ghosts, and hopefully wouldn’t, but the name seemed fitting). And also, they might find other nations if they made something like this. The more sound and light, the better.


He took the two bottles, holding them with one hand just as Norway did, and threw one look down the hole. The monsters seemed to have figured something was up, and he couldn’t help but give a small smile. This could actually be fun. “Of course.” He answered with more confidence than he had planned to give. “I’m ready”


The cloth flamed up immediately as the match touched it and he watched as Norway dropped the burning bottles down the hole, where the monsters seemed to be panicking. The fire started down there and Raivis took the match, quickly setting his own bottles to fire. The moment he felt them slip through his fingers down towards the monsters, he had already bowed down to take the last bottle, trusting Norway to close the hatch.


The crash by the bottles was followed by the screaming of the monsters, and an incredible heat coming from the hole, small fire-sparks, flying up from the storage. “L-Let’s go!” He screamed, just now realizing how fast they had go before the fire spread. But the panic couldn’t erase the smallsmile on his face. Who knew blowing up monsters could be so fun?

Norway made great speed out of the liquor store, wanting to put a lot of distance between the burning liquor store and himself and Raivis - could be dangerous to be too close, even if they where "nations".
The backpack was heavy and he could hear the clinking of the bottles as he ran, but he only looked back to ensure Latvia was still following.

He didn't signal to stop until the two where a good 6 houses away from the store, the newly acquired crowbar used to gain access through a particularly stubborn door. Truthfully - Norway was now enjoying himself a bit. This was almost like being back in the Viking age; there where no rules, it was a struggle for survival...and Erik intended to win this ‘game’.

Taking long and quick steps Erik made it to the second floor, still clutching the crow bar. "Scream if you see anything..."
Considering they had been so close to the other 'monsters' without noticing, Erik had a sinking feeling more could be around - as cleverly camouflaged as the rest.

Despite his worry, this house seemed completely empty. From the second floor window, they had a pretty amazing view of the burning store. Erik couldn't help but grin - he feared/respected and loved fire at the same time. But watching it now from afar all he could think about was how much fun it was.

“Keep your eyes peeled for any signs of movement….nations or monsters…”

Raivis ran after Norway, the older nation being faster than him even with the heavy backpack. He didn’t think about where they ran, only made sure to stay in distance of Erik and get away from the fire flaming up behind them in the store. With the adrenaline, both from fear and thrill he didn’t remember to look after monsters lurking in the shadow parts.
Though, if there had been any monsters, they were probably already frightened away by the fire. That thought made him smile a bit. They had managed to scare away the monsters. They could fight back. They were not preys anymore, it was a comforting
He wouldn’t say this dragged the best out of him. Rather, it seemed to slowly destroy his common-sense, making him forget about how you should and would act in moments. Like how he didn’t even flinch as Norway broke the door the house.

He watched the fire from one of the windows directed towards the store. From there you could pretty much see the whole district, but except the flicker of the fire nothing else was to see. Humming in response to Norway’s question, he knew would scream if something happened… though probably also if that something turned out to be nothing but paranoia.
“What should we do…” he wondered out loud, biting his lower lip as tried seeing beyond what the window showed. “Maybe…” He had spotted a tall building deeper into the city; it was too far away to see what it was... maybe a hotel, or a TV-tower. “Maybe we should g-go to somewhere high? T-to get a view of this thing.” Even with that said, Raivis rubbed his eye. The rush he had gotten was fading, and he was starting to get a bit tired. He voiced this too. “Or should we rest here?”



((So, do you think we should start a new thread, since we're not in the store anymore?))