A stabbing pain woke me, and for a minute I forgot who I was. Then, the world seemed to crash down, and I tears came to my eyes.

Confusion and fear reigned, and I wondered what happened to my family. Were they the ones targeted or were they just in the crossfire? We knew some shady people, and organized crime wasn't a foreign concept in our house. Just who exactly did they piss off?

I looked around, realizing I was on a plane. It was a very nice one, and it seemed more like a private jet than, say, Air Canada. I was lying down on a pullout bed, and I slowly sat up, clutching my head.

I was in a haze, thinking about nothing as time seemed to slip away from me. I could've sat there for a few minutes or a few hours. But one minute I was alone and the next there was someone else in the room. Something was on my forehead. His hand were icy cold, and I shivered.

"You're awake," Matthew grimaced. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got hit by a truck," I tried to say, but all that came out was a low wheeze. I coughed, my throat dry. He stepped away and brought me water. I took it, and it felt like peppermint against my burning throat.

"Thanks," I muttered. I put my hand to my head, skull pounding. I felt bandages on my forehead.
"I checked your head right after we left. You have a bit of bruising and a mild concussion." I winced.

"Definitely feels like I have a mild concussion. Anything else?" My speech was slowed, and the world was tilting.

"No. Luckily, it doesn't look like there's any permanent damage. You should be fine after a couple of days of rest. It could've been a lot worse." I nodded slightly.

"What happened? Who were those people? They talked about - something, what was it - foreign countries. The way they spoke, it sounded like they were talking about someone. People." He stayed silent, avoiding my eyes. I narrowed my eyes.

"Mattie," he flinched. Even in my weak state, he seemed to fear me. "What do you know about all of this?"

"I mean," he stuttered, his face going pale. He sighed, giving me a sideways glance. "Look, what happened, well, you might not believe me." I folded my arms, head pulsing.

"I might. You'll never know unless you tell me. But I live with four brothers, and I know how to make someone give me what I want." He held his hands up disarmingly.

"Okay. But just try to keep an open mind okay?" And so he told me everything. At first I didn't believe him. I mean, who would? It sounded pretty crazy, and even after he explained it, I didn't really understand everything he said. And the concussion most certainly wasn't making anything better. I had known him for about a month, so I didn't trust him fully yet.

"So, wait. Let me just get this straight. You're saying there are immortal personifications of countries and that you're one of them." He nodded.

"And that there are two kinds of personifications. 1P and 2P."

"Yeah."

"And you and Matt are both simultaneously the personification of Canada. Oliver is Great Britain, Allen is the U.S and François is France."

"Exactly." It was silent for a few minutes as I thought everything over, and then I sighed.

"That has got to be the lamest thing I have ever heard." His eyes widened, and he began to stutter.

"So you don't believe me?" I shook my head, writing my hands.

"Oh I believe you. I don't know why, but I feel like you're telling the truth." I looked out the window, watching the clouds. I had never been on a plane before, and the view was much better than I thought. Looking down at those small trees the size of a rice grain, I realized how small people really are. "I can't explain it. It's just deep down I know. I just know." I looked to him, and his mouth was wide open. "Does that sound crazy to you?"

He quickly closed his mouth with a clack, his face trying to go back to normal. "No. No it-" He stopped himself. "Yeah. A little bit. But, I don't know. You've never heard any of the 2Ps talk about this before?"

"No." I thought for a moment. Maybe I had heard about this whole Nations situation before. It sounded oddly familiar, but I wasn't sure why. Maybe that blow to the head was the last straw and I finally went crazy. That seemed a lot more likely than anything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. "But I still don't understand what exactly the terrorist group... what was it called again?"

"The Anti League," he said. "It's really complicated, but the Anti League is basically a group that thinks the world would be better without Personifications. They usually go after small territories, though I don't remember them ever going after such large countries." He looked to me. "Even among Nations, Lynn, your brothers are pretty important. I've never seen any civilian group go after such powerful Representatives." He stayed silent. I shook my head, and a pain pierced my skull. I cried out.

"Careful! You're pretty shaken up. You might want to take it easy until we get to our stop." I winced.

"Yeah. Where are we going?"

"I can't tell you." I glared through the pain. "Look, there's been a security breach, and everywhere right now is compromised. If I say anything, a surveillance system might pick it up. Trust me it's for your own safety."

"Fine," I muttered knowing there was nothing I could do about it. "Now go away. And turn of the light while you're at it. I'm going to at least try to get some sleep."

The plane ride lasted for about three hours. At least, that's what Mattie told me. I was in a fitful limbo of consciousness and oblivion, and Mattie had to shake me awake as we were landing.

"Now remember, Lynn," he said, keeping his voice low. "We have to move quickly. The Anti League probably isn't here-"

"Probably isn't here?" I said, narrowing my eyes. Even dim light felt like piercing flames in my head. "What happens if they followed us?" He grimaced, avoiding my eyes.

"This is a top secret government airport, and we have all kinds of signal blocks in the air. There isn't really a chance that they followed us. But remember, we have to move fast. I have a friend that's going to pick us up in his plane and take us to a more secure location." I raised a brow.

"Who is it?" He rubbed his neck.

"Um, he's actually kind of like my brother, but not really. His name is Alfred and he's the personification of the United States." My face went pale, and my breath quickened.

"We crossed the border." It wasn't a question. He nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

"About an hour ago. We're in Maine right now. At the northeastern point of the country. It was the closest and most secluded base in the area. Alfred flew in from D.C to come meet us." My eyes widened.

"Wait, so that's the friend who you were talking about when we first met? The one that lives in D.C?" He gave me a confused look and tilted his head sideways.

"Um, I mean, yeah," his voice went soft, as if speaking to himself. "I can't believe you remembered that, actually." I thought for a while, watching the clouds part through the plane's wings.

"So are all of your friends Nations, then?" He shrugged.

"Well, usually the personifications usually only talk with their top politicians and officers and other Nations and Provinces. It wasn't always like that, but ever since..."He sighed, as if re-living a painful memory. He shook his head. "We try to keep our distance from humans."

"Why?" He shook his head.

"We're immortal, or really close to it. We live for hundreds of years, a lot longer than any human lifespan. We've all done it at some point. Gotten close to a human, I mean. When they die, we go into a heavy depression and mourn for decades or even centuries at a time. We know that we'll outlive every human we meet. Even the youngest baby will eventually die before us. So we don't really bother anymore."

"That's," I swallowed a lump in my throat. "That's pretty intense." He nodded solemnly. "How could you possibly live like that? I could never..." my voice faded. Thinking of all my friends dying before me and having to live hundreds of years longer than them, the idea seemed absolutely crazy. "It sounds so lonely." He shrugged.

"Sometimes. But you learn to live with it. After a century or two, you finally accept the fact that you're immortal." I could tell he wanted to drop the subject, so I asked him a different question, but it didn't feel any less painful.

"What's going to happen to my brothers? They're still back home." I shook my head. "Are they going to be okay? Can I call them so they know I'm safe?" His lip twitched, and he frowned.

"I'm not sure. We're still a bit worried about wiretapping and security, so I don't know. But Matt knows where you are. He had a suspicion that something like this might happen, so he entrusted me with you if anything bad were to happen."

"When can I call them?" He winced as I took his arm, and I saw that he was injured, as well.

"I'm not really sure, but we'll have better security at the new location. Those places are specifically designed for situations just like this." I nodded. My ears began to pop, and I felt a slight pressure in my head. I looked out the window, seeing a wide expanse of trees and a small dot of open land. In a vast expanse of wilderness, a few specks of roads and buildings stood. I guessed that's where we were heading.

The landing was a little nauseating especially with the slight turbulence. Mattie said that this was normal for first-time fliers, but it didn't help settle the queasiness in my stomach.

When we landed, Mattie took my hand in his, leading me off the plane. I stumbled once, the world spinning. He tried to help, but I put out a hand to stop him. I could do a simple task like walking. A man in a black pilot suit bowed to us, and I nodded back. The landing site was pretty bare. It just had a few military trucks driving around and a few stationary, military grade planes. A man in what I assumed was a U.S air force uniform escorted us to a small building about the size of a barn.

The inside of the building looked like an apocalyptic storehouse with all kinds of weapons and military vehicles. Dozens of soldiers rushed around frantically. The man led down a flight of stairs into some sort of basement. It actually seemed like a prison or a top secret holding cell, because all of the doors were a thick metal, and the escort had to put in a long code into a keypad to open each door.

After five minutes of walking and losing all sense of direction we finally made it to a small room that looked more like a company lounge than a military base. Inside were three people two of who I assumed were bodyguards by the quantity of their weapons, and a guy who looked like the son of an important politician.

As soon as we opened the door, the third man turned to us, giving a wide smile. He rushed over to Mattie, quickly embracing him into a large, and seemingly painful, hug. Mattie let out a squeak of protest.

"Yo, Can-Can! Glad you could make it in one piece." Mattie's face paled.

"America," he wheezed. "I can't breathe." The man quickly let go, and Mattie's shoulders slumped dramatically.

"You okay, Mattie?" I whispered. He nodded, gulping for air. He let out a weak smile.

"I should've expected that, honestly. Every time I visit him, this always happens." The man suddenly noticed me, and he gave a smile.

"Sorry about that. It's just kind of my way of greeting my bro." He held out a hand. "I'm Alfred F. Jones, Representative of the United States of America. Nice to meet you." I looked to Mattie for reassurance, and he nodded. I slowly took his hand, noticing his strong grip.

"I'm Maelynn Bonnefoy. But just call me Lynn." He nodded, his grin widening.

"Canada's told me a lot about you." His eyes widened, and he laughed sheepishly. "Sorry. I mean Matthew. I know getting used to Personification names can be confusing sometimes." I shrugged, trying not to stare at the bodyguards.

"The names are the least confusing part," I mumbled.

"Well that's good," his smile faded, tone going serious. "And I'm sorry all of this is happening to you." He shook his head, grimacing. "We Nations try to keep our citizens out of these kinds of threats. All of us are going to try to help you through this. We're so sorry that you got caught in the middle of this fight." I shrugged pretending not to care. It was all bravado.

"Well, nothing I can do about it, really." I ran a hand through my hair absentmindedly. "So where exactly are we heading? Mattie said that it was some sort of secret base, but he never said where." Alfred's expression changed, and he seemed nervous.

"Um, I can't really tell you yet." He lowered his voice as if telling a secret. "We can never be one hundred percent sure that the information won't get passed along somehow. When we get to the location and double check to make sure there are no wiretaps, I'll be glad to tell you. But until then, sorry."

"That's fine. Mattie said the same thing about this base." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I understand." He looked back to the bodyguards.

"Is everything set up yet?" The two gave curt nods, and Alfred turned back to us. He smiled widely.

"Alright then. Let's go." Alfred lead the way, the two guards walking on either side of him. I gave Mattie a nervous glance, and he whispered to me.

"The secret service's just a precaution. Some of the larger Nations like to have a bit of extra protection. Due to all of the terrorist attacks and threats to the U.S, the leaders suggested that Alfred have security with him at all times."

"They can force him to do that? The leaders, I mean?" He shrugged.

"Sort of. Really, it's more of a suggestion, and Alfred thinks is a good idea to have more security. And he's not wrong. Sometimes it's better for us to have a little bit of extra protection. This isn't the first time one of us has been targeted by radical and foreign nationalist groups."

"That's insane." He shrugged, looking around hesitantly.

"You get used to it after a while." He thought for a moment. "Actually, you're kind of raised from the beginning extremely protected. We really don't know anything else, so it all seems kind of normal to us."

We made it to a small, black plane that looked more like a private jet. Well, in all likelihood it probably was. It was definitely the nicest plane in the entire field. Alfred stopped right before the stairs up to the plane.

"You two go on ahead. I have to talk with the guys for a moment." We nodded walking into the plane. It seemed just as nice as the last plane with leather seats and a few flat screen TVs and a pullout bed.

After a couple minutes, Alfred joined us on the plane without his escorts. He rubbed his neck, and he looked like he hasn't slept in a while. With this situation, I didn't blame him.

"Sorry about that, guys. Just had to check on something first." He checked his watch. "The plane ride should last about an hour. We'll get to the safe house at around 6 o'clock. We've got a bit of time to kill."

"Ok," Mattie turned to me. "Lynn, if you want to go get some more rest there's a pullout bed in the back."

"We've also got some food in the fridge and a microwave if you want some." I nodded.

"I think that's a good idea. We should both have something to eat. Save our strength." We had some instant dinners. They weren't actually that bad. Then again, it seemed like everything these Representatives had were high quality things, even their pre-prepared foods.

"So, Lynn, isn't it?" I nodded. "You're from Ontario, aren't you?"

"Yeah, Toronto. But I've been living in Montréal for the past five years."

"So you can speak both English and French."

"Yup. I already knew it when the guys adopted me. Allen uses English all the time in the house." His eyes widened, and his face seemed to pale a bit.

"Allen? You mean 2P America?" He looked to Mattie, and he nodded solemnly. "Canada told me about Matt - his counterpart - but," his voice went low. "I didn't realize there were others. Who else has been taking care of you?"

"Um, it's just Matt, François, Oliver, and Allen. Why?" He lowered his head, his hair hiding his eyes. He muttered something under his breath, and when he looked at me again, he seemed like he was trying to hide anger, but as to why I didn't know. He turned to Mattie.

"You didn't tell her, did you?" He sighed, shaking his head.

"I really didn't see a need to. It's not like we can change the past. What's done is done." His hands clenched into fists.

"Damn. I never expected them to break the rule. Not so soon." I looked to both of them, raising a brow.

"What rule? What are you talking about?" They refused to look at me. "What rule?" I said more harshly. "Tell me." They flinched. Mattie was the first to speak up.

"Do you remember how I told you the Personifications don't usually interact with humans much outside of work?" I nodded. "Well, you already know the reason for that. But all of us have agreed on certain rules with dealing with humans. One of the rules is that we're not allowed to take in orphaned children to raise. We get really attached to them and, well-"

"When they die, you still live on." My mouth went dry.

"Not just that," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "They're constantly in danger because of us. The people who know about our existence know that we're immortal. They can't threaten to kill us. But human children," his voice gave out. It looked like he was about to cry. "Let's just say that our enemies try to use the child's mortality against us."

"They threaten you with the kid's life." He nodded, not looking at me. "So, does that mean I wasn't supposed to happen? I was adopted by four Nations, so that means all of them were breaking that rule because of me?"

"Lynn," Mattie said. He placed a hand on my shoulder.  "None of this is your fault. You were just a child, and you're," he swallowed. "You're human. You were a child, so you didn't know. Don't feel guilty about any of this. They were the ones who did this, not you." I felt my hands shake, and I clenched them into fists.

"It's not that," I gritted my teeth. "I mean, it is. But they knew that I would be targeted because I'm human. They knew this kind of thing would happen eventually. And by adopting me, they put me in danger." I slammed my eyes shut. "I'm not even mad about them lying to me. It's an important secret, I get that. But all this time," I growled. "This is their fault. The Anti League, the house attack, everything. If they had just followed the stupid rule, I wouldn't be in this situation. This is all their fault." It was silent besides the engine running. America put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, dude. Maelynn I-" I stood up quickly.

"Don't call me that. Don't call me that name," I glared. "Don't talk to me. Let me be. Just leave me alone." I ran to the back room and locked myself in the makeshift bedroom. I sank to the floor, putting my head in my hands. I swallowed a lump in my throat and felt my eyes burn. No. I wasn't going to cry. Not today. Not now. But I couldn't stop the tears from coming, and I tried to keep my sobs quiet.

I was so scared. I was scared of what was waiting for us in the states. I was scared for my brothers. Mad as I was, I still cared about their safety.

A pit began to form in my stomach. What if those guys found me? The terrorist group seemed pretty hardcore. If they found me, I had no doubts that they would torture me for information. I knew nothing, but that wouldn't stop them. They would use me as bait or a hostage, or worse. They would torture me to death, and I could do nothing about it.

My body began to shake, and I curled myself deeper into a ball. I clutched onto my head, desperately trying to stop the growing panic in my chest. It wasn't working.

At that point, I was glad for the lack of sleep. After about an hour, my body felt too tired to continue my panic attack. Slowly, I cried myself to sleep, wondering if I would ever see my family again.