Disclaimer: Characters and background story belongs to the admin chickens. I am just using it :D

Grayson POV

Thunder and lightning struck through the darkest of nights, blinding my senses and deafening my ears as I tried to overcome that shaky feeling and it was hard for me to take a steady breath as the pain in my body didn't ebb away but seemed to grow stronger, nearly becoming unbearable.
I felt old and worn, exhausted and weak.
At this point I cannot even recall how we even got this far. Every step had been a pain in the ass, both physical and emotional, and in the end … it didn't even matter.
All our efforts … blown to pieces as if we never accomplished anything.
I flinched as another flash of lightning hit the ground nearby with a loud bang and I nearly covered my ears to shut it out, almost missing the soft whimper of my companion.

Drake. Half-human, half-enderman. The latter was giving him a hard time right now.
He was currently sitting on the only bed in this abandoned cottage, deep in an unknown forest, clutching the sheets that he was wrapped in and he was shaking rather violently. His hair was a mess and the fact that he was completely soaked didn't do him any better, only resulting that his clothes clung to his black and white skin rather uncomfortably.

Not once since I found him in the woods, all alone in the rain and barely being conscious, dragging him out of the atrocious weather that surely must have hurt him, did he speak a word.

"Drake … Hey buddy … Can you hear me?" I whispered but he did not react.

Not at all.

Maybe he didn't register my softly murmured words.
He kept his eyes closed, head sunken forward.

Did he finally pass out?
Pure panic rushed through my veins and the adrenaline made my heart pounding in my chest.

"A-are … you okay? Drake?" What a stupid question to ask. Of course he was not okay, how could he be?
The cave … it took a toll on him … far greater than on me or Mia …
Mia … she was out there somewhere, hopefully still alive … was she looking for us?

We promised ...
I had hoped that we all would end in one and the same place but soon after I went to the portal … I knew that it would not be the case.
I didn't want to leave my friends back there but I also kind of knew that we were meant to be separated. Again.
It happened before.

That thought left me to deal with a dreadful feeling.

Then ... I stumbled over Drake, and it might have been by accident but damn … I was still determined to find Mia too.

Drake groaned painfully and this fact pulled me back into the present. It was obvious that he was hurting, clutching is head and I could tell that his lips were moving but no words ever reached my ears.
I willed my aching body up as he began to tremble, rocking his body back and forth, seemingly lost in whatever was haunting him.
So … familiar ...just like before.
Another headache? But … that could only indicate that … no. We killed that monster and … freed Armen.

There was no way …
Or was there?

Hesitantly I reached out for him and he winced slightly as my hand made contact with his shoulder.

I was about to say something as, all of a sudden he seemed to snap and he tensed up, his hands still tangled with the covers of the bed.
My heart certainly stopped beating as a scream escaped Drake's lips, so desperate and painful, shattering my soul into small fragments.
For a split second all I could do was stare at him in shock.
Drake's eyes were closed but the expression on his face was horrific.
I eventually escaped the trance that made it impossible for me to move and I slipped onto the bed, wrapping my arms around the shuddering body of my best friend, softly pulling him close to myself to hold him.
A sad try to save him from his own mind.

"Drake … Shh … It's okay ..."

My own words stung … because I knew it was a lie.

Nothing would ever be okay again. There was no reasoning with the tragic of a truth.
Instead of making him feel better, my words seemed to have the opposite effect on him. Whatever barrier he had built up around himself fell down as a sob found its way past his lips and I could not even imagine how many denied emotions and thoughts were now invading his being.

All I was able to do was hold him close to myself in a protective way.
As if I could shield him from what was inside of his head.

I would take his pain away if I could. He didn't deserve any of this. Neither did Armen … or
Collin … or as I preferred to call him now … Herobrine … he was to blame for this.

For everything actually.
It started and ended with him … always.

"You're not alone, Drake." I let him cry and found myself carefully petting his hair, still trying to find a way to comfort him.

It could have been hours, I don't really know, but his trembling stopped and so did his tears.
Silence filled the small room we were currently residing in and another rush of panic flooded through my body as I felt him leaning into me, his head now resting on my right shoulder.

"I am sorry ..." It was barely a whisper as Drake finally broke out of his reverie, his voice sounding fragile and exhausted.
I softly shrugged my shoulders, still kind of stroking through now dried hair tenderly, causing him to stir in sudden distress. He tried to push himself up, out of my grasp, realizing that he was lying in my arms.

"There is nothing to be sorry about." He avoided any eye contact, kept his back facing me.
Another sting of pain in my chest … I lifted my arm to touch him, my fingers nearly met the fabric of his worn shirt, but at this point I was sure that he would simply back away from the touch.

"I'm glad that I found you. You had me worried back there in the woods ..."

Silence. It was deafening … and the worry was still present and I found myself unable to find a reason to end it … unless … for a very unpleasant … and sore subject.

No, it was the last thing that he would want to talk about.

"Why did you save me?"

That however… were the last words I wanted to hear. They indicated what I hoped would never be anything I had to face and now I felt numb out of sheer fear.

I somewhat gaped at him, suddenly very glad about the fact, that Drake wouldn't look at me.

So many words left unsaid but no matter what I could come up with in this very moment … nothing could change the past. There was no turning back.
What happened to Armen … even if I really wanted to change everything…
All I was gifted with was a possibility to save another one dear to me.
I couldn't bear the thought of losing Drake too. Not after everything we've been through together.

"What kind of a question is that? You're my friend … my family … "

A flash of memories hit me like a damn truck and it was difficult to speak in a soft register.

The arctic base …
The city of Iron Port ...

Herobrines layer ...

And after that all hell broke loose.

Armen's sacrifice just had been the beginning of something way bigger … something more dangerous.
We never truly had any control over the steps we made, the decisions never being our own.
An illusion that we no longer could pretend didn't exist. There was no denying.
If I had known … no, that would not have have altered the outcome.

How the hell should I get him out of his way of thinking, away from the breaking point?
God damn …

"You did the same, Drake. Back in the badlands … I don't know for how long I was just on survival, thinking about everything that happened after the cave. Sometimes I really wanted to quit. I was on my own, even whilst living under the thumb of the empire and even more so after they killed my family."
I felt my breath hitch and my eyes began to burn, a sensation I tried to block out, not wanting to shed any tears, because this was meant to cheer Drake up, not resulting in the opposite.
He should not blame himself for anything.

"With the dragon egg in my possession … I was a wanted man, still am. And many times I asked myself … why? What for? Is this really worth it? … Well, at least until I finally met another reason to start fighting again." I paused there for a scratch of a second, collecting myself because simply thinking about the few years I was left alone, waiting for some change in routine, made me feel dizzy. I felt so lost after he left but that was something I would never admit.

"You."

I could tell that he was listening, his posture was giving him away.

At first he did not dare to move but as soon as I ended my prologue I felt his stare on me.
Now it was my turn to keep the gaze down, biting on my lips.

"You don't have to say anything." It was not my goal to evoke any pity so I kept going. "Just remember … that you're not alone. I know it can be tough and I know that sometimes you cannot avoid these feelings but … I do care for you. And I know that it might sound selfish … but … I do need you, Drake."
God, could I stammer any more?

Determined to turn this depression around I waited patiently for a reaction, really anything, but the only thing my mind was able to register was the faint sound of a storm slowly fading away.

Drake was filling the room with a dead silence.

And as I finally found the courage to lift my head, I instantly knew that it wasn't over yet.

The horrible nightmare still tormenting us.
His glare bore into me and all I could think about was the deadly white glow in his eyes.