#anichka

"Anichka"

Name: Anichka Alexeev Nicknames: Anya, Annie, etc. Age: 16 Gender: female Date of Birth: 10 September School: Durmstrang House: n/a Wand: Sycamore wood, Jackalope antler core, 13 inches Are you a pure blood, half blood, or muggle? Pure blood Head boy/girl? N/a Quidditch position: n/a Prefect? N/a Role: student Eyes: blue Skin: a bit darker tan Nationality: Russian Hair: black Appearance: pictures Height: 5’8” Weight: 109lbs Pet: none Favorite class(es): none Least favorite class(es): none Favorite spell(s): none Least favorite spell(s): none Favorite teacher(s): none Least favorite teacher(s): none Animagi: none Patronus: Wolf Parents: unknown Siblings: unknown Other family: unknown Likes: boys, studying Dislikes: bullies Personality: sweet and kind but can sometimes be a bit bitter Allies: unknown Rivals: unknown Enemies: unknown Bio: none Any distinguishing features: none Any other information: none

nik: Hey, you free this Sunday for that coffee?

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Trigger Warning: Wars, Nukes, guns, blood and sickness

Word count: 1880

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Anichka was terrified, and running out of time.

It had been six years since WW3. Six years since the world had been nuked to all hell, making it an almost uninhabitable wasteland. The grand city of New York was now nothing more than a crumbling ruin.

But given its size, Annie couldn’t fathom why she hadn’t found any fucking medicine in the four drugstores she had checked out today.

Her younger brother May was sick. It was an illness that had popped up a year or so after the bombs fell. It didn’t pop up often, but when it did, it was crucial that they find the right medicine for it. So far the only medicine that had helped was penicillin, meaning it was some kind of infection that plagued Annie’s brother...But of course the world was slowly running out of that. It would be their luck to be killed off by illness rather than radiation...The siblings had both survived the initial blast somehow, and the radiation after that, but living out here wasn’t easy. And when May’s illness popped up out of seemingly nowhere, well...That didn’t make things any easier.

The seventeen year old couldn’t walk or talk anymore, he was too weak to even lift his head to look up at his sister rummaging through shelves and drawers, from where he sat slumped against a filing cabinet on the floor. This was the fifth drugstore they had checked out, his legs having given out after the third. He was tired, he wanted to find somewhere to hunker down for the night and sleep for a hundred years, but May knew that he could die at any point this late in the illness.

It had five stages, which happened over the course of five days. The first was a cough. Nothing too alarming, maybe the air was just too dusty or he had a tickle in his throat. The second day, he would be vomiting. Kind of a dramatic jump but alas, that’s how things tended to go. On the third day, his temperature would go through the roof and he would pass out at some point. May tended to spend most of his time sitting down on the third day if he didn’t have medicine by then. Fourth day he wouldn’t be able to stomach anything other than water, and his body would slowly start to rebel against him, making movement harder to do without collapsing. And the fifth day…

May’s body convulsed slightly as he coughed, a small wet gurgle leaving the back of his throat as blood dripped onto his chin. Not too much, but it would only get worse. He groaned quietly as the coppery taste of blood filled his taste buds, and Anichka peeked her head out from behind the shelf to give him a look of sympathy. She quickly made her way over to May though, pulling a rag out of her back pocket and kneeling down next to her brother to wipe the blood from his lips and chin. With a sigh she cast it aside, then pulled out her canteen and urged May to take a sip. He was hesitant, he knew they were running out of clean water to drink, but he didn’t refuse. He knew she would only push anyway. Annie smiled when he didn’t try to turn his head, and that was always something worth seeing.

“Still no medicine here, myshka...I’m sorry…”

May didn’t say anything. Couldn’t find the strength to even if he wanted to. He knew there wouldn’t be already. He managed a half assed shrug with one shoulder, slumping forward slightly from the movement. Annie just frowned, trying to reposition him again.

“I think there’s another pharmacy just a few blocks from here. Up to taking a look?”

May wanted to, he really did. He didn’t want to leave his sister alone either. But he also really didn’t feel up to it. He knew he’d only slow Annie down. So, he slowly shook his head. Annie didn’t seem to happy, but she understood. So instead she pulled her bag off of her back, taking out the blanket she kept rolled on the top and draping it over her brother in an attempt to warm him up some. Winter would be coming soon, and they both knew it would be a hard one. The temperatures outside were already dropping. They’d need to find a safe and semi warm place to try and wait it out.

“Alright...Try and get some rest, okay? I know you don’t like sleeping when you’re sick but…”

Annie chewed on her lower lip, not wanting to finish that sentence. Nothing she could think of sounded particularly cheerful. So she just left her words hanging. Thankfully May just made a noncommittal grunting noise to her request, so she left it at that.

Annie attempted to give her brother what she hoped was a reassuring smile, then stood up again, planning to leave and be as quick as possible when it came to checking out the other store. She reached behind her to check that her gun was still tucked under the waistband of her pants, feeling reassured when it was. She hated using it, trying not to as often as possible, mostly just to try and set a good example for her brother who was forced to grow up way too quickly in this new world, but knowing she had the extra protection in case she needed it was...Comforting, to say the least.

Annie turned around, walking towards the door they had came through that would lead her back into the main pharmacy, but stopped dead in her tracks. She thought she could hear someone outside...When all was silent she thought perhaps it was just her imagination, but then she heard an unmistakable voice calling out to who she supposed must be his friend.

“There’s a door back here!”

Without much time to think, much less check through the mesh wiring who they were up against, she locked the door with the keys that were conveniently still on the outside, rushed back over to May and wrapped her arms around his torso, then dragged him under a desk that was sitting in the corner of the room, mostly shielding them from view. She put May behind her as much as she could, pulling out her gun. As long as whoever was out there was particularly observant, she hoped they would just pass them none the wiser…

She listened as the door handle was jiggled, a frustrated “It’s locked!” Coming from the same voice as before. There was a gruff chuckle after that, and Annie had to cover her mouth to stop from gasping loudly in fright after the door was kicked in all of a sudden by a large steel toed boot. It slammed off the wall, a large crashing noise resonating through the room...Then it just kinda fell onto the floor, the hinges apparently haven given way.

“Oh..Whoops.”

The second voice was a lot deeper, with an accent. Like the one Annie and May had, Russian…Still, they didn’t show themselves. Not on purpose anyway...Because just a few seconds later, Annie could hear small choking noises. Turning around slightly, she realised May was slouched in a way that made coughing hard for him. Worried he would choke on his own blood, Annie tried to move him forward slightly. But as soon as she did…

Loud coughing began to fill the room with noise, instantly alerting the two strangers who had joined the siblings unknowingly. Terrified, Annie cocked her gun, but she was more worried about May. The blood he was coughing up was a lot more than last time, and it had begun to seep into his clothing, some dripping onto the floor too. Annie didn’t know what to do. The two people would now know where they were and maybe try to kill them, and she also had a dying baby brother who couldn’t help it.

Forcing herself to worry more about her brother for the time being, she took May’s hands in her own, beginning to whisper frantic reassurances and comforting words in Russian. She was too worried to speak in English to him right now, so she reverted back to their mother tongue. Eventually May’s coughing subsided, but he just...Went completely limp afterwards. Annie’s eyes widened, but before she could reach out to check his pulse, the sound of a gun behind her being cocked made her pause.

“Drop it.”

Reluctantly, Annie dropped her gun. She felt as if she could cry, the stress of everything beginning to overwhelm her all at once. She figured if she complied she wouldn’t have as much trouble. Slowly, she turned around, wide blue eyes meeting narrowed grey. Her lower lip trembled slightly as she inhaled, readying herself to try and negotiate, but she was surprised when the tall blonde man standing next to the short black haired one, gestured for his friend to lower his gun. His friend complied, but looked confused. He got no answer, but she did. Because the blonde man began to speak in Russian to them.”

“Will you behave?”

Annie immediately nodded. She really didn’t want to pick a fight with them.

“Yes...Yes, I promise. Please, we were just trying to find medicine. My brother is sick. Please, he’s just a kid. Just let us leave, please I’m begging you…”

The man fell silent after that, and Annie practically held her breath. She was prepared to hear the worst answer, but instead the man switched back to English to talk to his companion.

“They aren’t a threat, Jojo. Ones just a kid.”

“Jojo” was staring at his friend like he had grown two heads, but didn’t argue. Instead he just sighed, holstering his gun and reaching back to rub the back of his neck.

“You better be right about this, Ilya...We’ve been tricked before.”

“Ilya” just gave an apologetic smile, looking back to Annie then.

“Ilya Volkov. This is my friend, Jojo. We’re here to help.”

Annie would have stood up, but instead she turned her attention back to her brother, pulling his motionless body out from their attempted hiding spot and cradling him in her arms.

“Anichka..This is May...You said you’re here to help...You have medicine?”

Ilya nodded, kneeling down beside the two. Jojo just stayed back, watching the exchange. Though his eyes did keep flickering to the sickly teenager, concern for him showing itself in his expression despite how cautious he was being.

“What do you need?”

Annie bit her lower lip, reaching up with one hand to push a black curl out of May’s ashen face. She looked at Ilya after that, brow knitted in worry.

“Penicillin…?”

Ilya smiled, nodding.

“We’ve got plenty. We’ve got a base, we’ve got food, water, medicine, an infirmary...You and your brother will be well looked after. I promise.”

Annie let out a small sob then, believing every word Ilya was saying. Perhaps it was foolish to, but he seemed genuine. She was so happy and relieved. They had hope.

“Please...Take us there…”

The man reached for May then, and when Annie relinquished her hold on him, he picked the teen up, cradling him close to his chest.