September 11th, 2001
Nebraska
I spun around in my chair one more time before stopping and resting my head on the table. I was the only person there because I'd come to New York with America. Which also meant getting up to go to the States Meeting at this ungodly hour. This time the meeting was being held in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. The World Meeting was not that far away in the U.N building.
I checked the clock for the millionth time, 8:03, "Ug. People had better get here soon." I inwardly groaned.
Before long states began arriving. First New York, then Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, Hawaii, and everyone else. Like usual I was ignored by almost everybody. And I liked it that way. I could get away with slipping out of the meeting and going to the observation deck of the South Tower. And around 8:40, that's exactly what I did.
I looked spellbound at the New York skyline. Everything looked so small from up there. Like I could grab the little cars and fling them into the river. I became aware of a silver glint on the horizon. Thinking nothing of it I slipped back into the meeting. It was like I'd never left. Suddenly New York screamed and a flames came out of the North Tower. I jumped out of my chair and ran up to the window.
The North Tower had a gaping hole in it's side and smoke poured out. I stared at it for forever. Then common sense kicked in and I whipped out my phone and speed dialed America.
"Hello?" England asked, he seemed very high strung.
"England! Is America there?!" I blurted. There was a pause on the other end and a feeling of dread rose in my throat.
"He is...but he's hurt. Really bad. Where are you?" I could imagine England staring out the window at the towers.
"In the South Tower....." As I said this a big BOOM rocked the floor.
"OH MY GOD! Nebraska are you all right?!" England screamed.
"I'm fine. What happened?" I was starting to hyperventilate.
"The South Tower was hit!"
I felt sick, "This can't be happening! How far down is it!?" The other states came running up to the roof. With no other option I followed them.
"In the middle. I see people on the roof...is that you?"
"Yeah. I'm waving."
"I see you."
"How are we going to get down? It's only a matter of time before......." I closed my eyes and let the sentence trail off. In the background I could hear Germany shouting, "What's Germany shouting about?"
"Trying to get a helicopter to the roof." England's voice sounded hopeless. England began to talk to some of the others. I can't quite remember but I think he was explaining to America who he was on the phone with. Sooner than I thought possible a helicopter came hovering at least twenty feet above our heads. We let up New York first because he was the most injured. I wanted to stay on the call with England as long as I could so I attempted to tell him what was going on.
"I'm about to go on. I have to end the-" All of a sudden the ground shifted beneath me and then was gone. I screamed and held the phone to my chest. I heard America's scream as well as England's. Almost as soon as it started the falling stopped. I was under a good deal of debris, though my torso was free, my legs weren't. I felt a searing pain in my left calf and I knew something had punctured it. Surprisingly, the phone was still in my hand and undamaged. I could hear England's frantic calls of my name.
"NEBRASKA!?"
"I-I'm okay. I can't get out, I think one of my legs has been stabbed. Please, h-hurry." Tears stung at my eyes.
"It's okay your gonna be okay." England soothed.
"Don't worry about me. How's America?" I asked.
"H-he's okay." He began talking to someone else but didn't move the phone from his ear, "She's trapped under rubble. Yes I have her on. Okay. Nebraska I'm putting Japan on."
"O-okay." I looked up at the sky, but my eyes settled on the still standing North Tower, "If the South Tower fell then so will the North." I thought.
"Natalie!" Japan's voice made my fear lesson.
"K-Kiku." I blinked back tears.
"Are you alright?" He asked. I smiled at the way he made his L's sound like R's.
"Yeah I'm fine. Just....I can't get out. My leg is stuck and it's only a matter of time until the North Tower falls." I checked the pocket watch, only to find that it had stopped working. The hands were stuck at 9:59 a.m.
"We'll get you out before that then." I could hear the desperation in his voice.
"No. It's too dangerous. Wait until the North Tower falls. Then come find me." On the other end I could practically see Japan's eyes widening and him turning to the window.
"I can't just leave you there!"
"You can and you will. Please just listen to me! If you were in my position and I in yours...you would tell me the exact same thing." There was silence on his side.
"Your right. I would." Japan answered solemnly.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"10:17. Why?"
"I've been lying here for eighteen minutes and I just realized my glasses are gone." I giggled, "If that's not proof that I'm a dork then I don't know what is!"
"Well then you can rest assured that it is proof." Japan's smile made it through the phone and that fluttery feeling in my chest started again.
"Heh heh. Hey how's America doing? Are England and Canada like bodyguards now?" I smiled and looked at the debris my legs were under.
"He's regained consciousness, that's a good sign. And to answer your question about England and Canada, pretty much." Japan explained what each country was doing, meanwhile I found some nasty looking metal hanging down above my right arm. I couldn't really move it because I was pretty sure I'd broken that arm.
"Ha! Yeah even now France and England would still fight. Nothing stops those t-" Suddenly the North Tower started to fall. Some debris landed just above my head but it knocked loose the metal and it buried itself in my shoulder and my wrist and I cried out in pain.
"Natalie, are you okay?" Japan's voice made me snap back to reality.
"I'm fine. Just got some dust in my eyes that's it." I soothed, "Well I guess you can come find me now."
"Right. I have to give the phone back to America now. Sayonara?" Japan sounded so sad it nearly made me cry.
"Sayonara....." As there was a pause another piece of metal fell and impaled itself in my left side.
"Natalie..are are you okay?" America asked. Oh how sick I was of this question!
"I-I'm fine. Ah....how are y-you?" I cursed myself for stammering. I was losing so much blood there was a small outline of me in red.
"I'm okay...England, Japan, Germany, and Russia are coming to look for you."
"Well t-tell them to h-hurry."
"Are you sure your alright?"
"Yeah....ah....I'm...." I noticed the blackness at the edge of my vision, "I'm fine.....can you...also tell them that there's.....more then I'm letting...on. Don't tell...ah...them that I said that. Just that it was.....a...a..a feeling. Okay?"
"Okay." America sounded scared, I wanted nothing more than to get out of here so I could be with the people I care about.
"I'll...see......you l-later...Al..."
That's when everything went black.
Japan.
"There's more than what she's telling us." America said once he hung up.
"What do you mean?" England frowned.
"She stopped answering...she had to take breaths in between words and she stuttered. A lot."
I bit my lip in worry. I turned and ran out with the others right behind me.
"Please be alright Natalie...."
Hours later we were still searching for her. It took lots of convincing to get the officials to let us search through the wreckage that was once the twin towers. And underneath it all was Natalie. I was beginning to panic and the others noticed.
"Japan...you should take a break." England put his hand on my shoulder. I shook my head.
"I can't." I said simply.
"You look like your about to have a panic attack. It won't help her if you freak out now." England reasoned. Again I shook my head.
"England! Japan! Come quickly!" Russia called. He and Germany were looking down a hole large enough for a person as large as me to get through. I looked down as well and my heart leapt to my throat.
Natalie lay in a pool of her own blood. Pieces of metal stuck out of her right shoulder, wrist, and left side. Only her torso was free, her legs were under a great deal of debris. The metal looked like it had been dragged.
"Natalie!" I cried as I scrambled to get down there. Quickly I checked her pulse and breathing and gave a sigh of relief. She was alive, "Help me get her out of here." Germany and Russia worked on moving the debris off her while England and I carefully removed the metal. I picked up her treasured pocket watch and held it close to my chest.
Once Natalie was free I picked her up, daring anyone to try and take her from me. The others ran down the pile of debris to go get help. Her eyes opened slightly as I climbed out of the hole.
"H-hey....I knew you'd.....come.." She buried her head in my chest.
"I would never leave you."
"That's exactl-ly my point....took y-you guys....long....enough." Her eyes took on a glassy look and I knew what was about to happen.
"No Natalie snap out of it! Don't go into the trance please!" I laid her out on a beam that had fallen, "Please..."
"Kiku....I-I love you..no matter..what." Then she closed her eyes and lay still.
"Natalie? Natalie, wake up! Wake up please!" I lightly shook her, no response, "Wake up! Natalie please!Wake up..." I buried my face in her chest and began to cry. I felt myself getting lifted into someone's arms. It wasn't Germany or Russia or England, I knew that much. For all I knew it could've been China. I slowly drifted into unconsciousness.
When I woke up I was being strapped into a stretcher with a breathing mask on my face. Germany and Italy were next to me, both looking very concerned. I reached up and shakily took off the breathing mask.
"W-where's Natalie?" I asked.
"She's going to be alright. They're taking her back to her home so that she can recover quicker." Germany explained. I tried sitting up but the paramedics made me lie back down. I don't know how I didn't notice this, but apparently on the way down to get to Natalie, I'd gotten stabbed by a sharp piece of metal in my side.
"I want to be with her." I demanded.
"You have to rest."
"I told her I wouldn't leave her!"
"It won't help her if you get hurt."
"I don't care as long as she's alright nothing else matters!" I yelled. England came over and put a hand on my forehead.
"Don't stress yourself out too much. Your getting yourself sick." He said without emotion. I tried to get out of the stretcher again. England put the breathing mask back on and then everything went black.
When I woke up again I was in my house. I sat up suddenly and felt a searing pain in my side. Yao ran in and made me lay back down.
"You have to rest, aru. You got very sick and still are."
"Natalie....is she okay?" I asked.
"She's stable. They expect her to wake up any day now." He put a wet cloth on my forehead and then turned to leave.
"Yao!" He stopped and turned back.
"Yes, aru?"
"Please, let me see her." I pleaded, "I want to be there when she wakes up." Yao looked at me sadly but then smiled a bit and helped me up.
"Alright. If it helps you get better, aru."
The next day we arrived at Natalie's house. Kansas opened the door cautiously.
"Oh good it's you guys." She led us up to Natalie's room and opened the door for us.
Natalie lay still on her bed, her head leaning off to the side. America was on one side of the bed, holding her hand. He had bandages around his head, chest, and shoulders. As I got closer to Natalie I couldn't help but notice the white bandages around her wrist, shoulder, and ankle. America looked up at us as we came in and gave a weak smile.
"Hey guys." He said trying to sound cheerful but failing miserably.
"How is she?" I asked as I came around the other side.
"As far as I can tell she's alright. She's been muttering things in Latin in her sleep." America sighed.
"Like what?" China asked. America glanced at Natalie with a worried expression.
"I'm not exactly sure.. but something like, placere adiuva me. What does that mean?" He looked at me and I shrugged.
"I'm sorry but I don't know Latin."
Natalie groaned in her sleep and then started mumbling something.
"Placare adiuva me....No! Rutrum non, non; Sed neque hoc volunt." Suddenly she screamed and started thrashing around. It took the three of us to hold her down, "Rutrum non, non; Sed neque hoc volunt!"
"What is she saying?" China asked.
"I don't know." I felt it getting harder to breath and started to panic. But then Natalie went limp again, "Hopefully she will wake up soon."
A week later, she did.