I Love You Back

                                    

                                          
As the group drove into Nuremberg, Vash was beginning to grow anxious. His leg was starting to sting quite badly, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to walk on it as casually as he'd been doing before. He drummed his fingers on the gun he was holding and continued to keep on high alert on the top of the truck.
"It's nice having a third eye in the sky to help us." Tino's voice made him jump. "Berwald and I can only look back and forth so many times before our necks start to ache," he laughed a little, trying to ease the tension that Vash was creating with his anxiety.
"Right, right." Vash acknowledged his joke, and continued scanning around, however difficult it was now that the sun was beginning to set. He banged the top of the truck with the butt of his gun. "Are we almost there?"
"Yes, we are." Matthew leaned his head out the window to talk as he drove. "We're just finding a smaller place to settle in for the night. The last place we camped at was too hazardous, and we need to be more careful now." He pulled into a parking lot for a small, cozy-looking, B&B building. "I need someone to check it out."
"I'll go!" Feliks bravely offered, getting out of the truck. "I'm already, like, hardcore grimy and gross, how much worse can it get?" He walked over to the building, banged on the door, and then listened. "It sounds safe in there." He motioned for the others to come over. Apprehensively, Tino, Berwald, and Vash slid off the top of the truck and walked over, guns drawn. Vash put his gun on his back, grabbed the top of the doorframe with his fingertips and lifted himself off the ground, pushed himself backwards, and swung forwards into the door to kick it down.
"Whoa..." Alfred said in awe. "That was bad ass."
Vash cracked a small smile. "I'm aware." He kept his back to everyone so he could wince to himself; his leg felt ready to fall off. He walked into the building with a slight limp to him, then took out a flashlight to look around the inside. It felt too quiet; something about the building felt off. "I don't like it in here."
"Why?" Tino questioned. "It's so cutesy! It must've been such a nice little place before everything turned so...well, before everything turned period."
"No, no I just don't like it in here. We have to find another place."
"Sorry dude, but we aren't taking orders from one person. This team does things the democratic way, with a vote."
"Since when?!" Ivan threw his arms up.
"Oh, you're one to question democracy." Alfred snapped at him, and the two of them growled at each other like wild animals. Katyusha put her hand on Ivan's chest to silence him, and Alfred continued. "Anyway, dude, what don't you like about this place? It's quiet, it's roomy enough for all of us, there's only one door to barricade—"
Vash suddenly yelped and jumped backwards as a zombie popped up from behind the counter, where he was searching. Alfred fumbled, trying to grab his gun from off his hip, and Tino tried to pull his out as well. All of their fumbling was lost time, however, as the zombie was already on top of Vash. In the end, it was Berwald who drew his gun and fired, and the blood from the zombie splattered all over the walls. "Come." He said quickly to Tino, grabbing his arm. "The shot has probably alerted others that are nearby. We must leave at once."
"W-wait!" Vash said, his hand stuck on his neck. He got to his feet shakily and stumbled towards the door, but collapsed in the doorway. Trembling harder than he ever had in his life, he lifted his hand away from his neck to reveal a nasty bite he'd gotten from the attack. The whole group fell silent and looked back at Liechtenstein, who was staring in disbelief with wide eyes. "Liech, listen to me. We talked about this," he sputtered from on the ground, his speech becoming slurred. "You know what to do. We planned this out. Liechten, I love you, sister." He looked up at her, his eyes suddenly starting to gloss over. Liechtenstein advanced towards him, taking a small revolver out of her jacket as she did. "You know...what to...you know...you promised," he began to foam at the mouth. "We had..." He trailed off, his speech becoming a groan. He started to get to his feet, wobbling as he did so.
"We had a pact." Liechtenstein raised the gun. "I love you back, brother." She closed her eyes, not even needing to look where she was aiming, and then fired. The entire group tensed as the shot rang through them, and hung in the still air of the night. She looked back at the rest of the group, and put her gun away. 
"Liech..." Katyusha whispered. 
"I'm...alright..." She said, gasping for air as she did so, and then dropped to her knees. She rolled over onto her side and put her face in her hands as she sobbed. "I love you back, brother!" She squeaked, her cries similar to those of a kitten in distress. Slowly, she crawled over to her brother and took his gun from him, then slung it over her back. Katyusha walked over to her slowly, picked her up, and carried her back to the truck as she cried. The group didn't even need to discuss their next move; everyone just knew that they were going to drive through the night to their next checkpoint. They needed to get as far away from the town as possible, and fast. Katyusha sat in the back of the truck, holding Liechtenstein as she bawled. Everyone sat in their spots, not daring to say a word as Liechtenstein's soft cries filled the air over the sound of their speeding tires.
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As he drove into Munich, Matthew was enjoying his alone time; everyone in the truck was asleep. After a day stop in Munich, they'd cross the German border and be out of the country. He checked his phone quickly as he sped along; his clock read 1:42AM. If he continued at the speed he was going, he'd reach Munich by 2:30.
As he drove along, his eyelids began to droop. He snapped himself awake and focused on the road, but his mind wandered as he drove. What's Italy going to be like? I can't believe Feliciano is dead. At least...at least he's with his brother. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose my big dork of a...
Matthew shook his head to focus himself and tried to concentrate on the road ahead, but it was growing more and more difficult. "Alright," he said aloud, and hit the brakes. "I'm exhausted, and have done all the driving so far. Someone else, take over driving for me..." He yawned and climbed into the back seat of the truck with Elizabeta. She stretched tiredly and moved into the passenger seat, glancing tiredly at the dark figure in the drivers seat beside her. As they drove, Katyusha slowly climbed from the back of the truck into the seat where Matthew was, and touched his thigh gently. The sudden contact woke Matthew up immediately, and she put her finger to her lips to signal to him to stay quiet. He nodded a little and leaned his head against the back window. She lay down and rested her head on his thighs gently, and he placed an arm around her shoulder. He couldn't contain himself; a wide smile spread across his lips, and he closed his eyes. Rubbing Kat's shoulder gently, he fell asleep with a big goofy grin; he and the others had no idea that the world everyone knew was about to change.