Broken World, Broken Lives

by BabySnowLeopard

Rae is just an average farm girl living a normal life, until one day when a creeper blows a hole in the walls and the village is overrun with monsters. Rae and the few other survivors must learn to survive in a world where their way of life has been turned completely upside-down and survival is a struggle. [Content warning for graphic violence, death, suicide, and mild language.]

1. Prologue

Prologue

I set foot outside, feeling the cool, crisp nighttime breeze against my skin. The full moon illuminated the landscape beautifully, and the dewdrops on the grass and the leaves of trees, glistening under the moonlight, gave the night an almost magical feel. It filled me with a sense of calm and peace that I hadn't felt for a long time.

Of course, I knew the peace of the night was only an illusion. I wasn't out here to experience the serenity of a peaceful night – though I longed that someday I could. No, I knew it was dangerous, even life-threatening, to go outside at night, yet I had a reason to be out here. The danger of the night was exactly why I was here.

No, I'm not a thrill-seeker or a daredevil, nor was I out here on some important mission that required me to risk my life. I was just done. Done with pain, done with suffering, done with fear, done with struggling to survive, done with loss, done with grief, done with life, done with everything – and this seemed like the easiest way to die and have my death look like an accident. After all, it technically isn't suicide if something else kills me.

I wandered away from our base, hearing the groaning of zombies, hissing of spiders, and ratline bones of skeletons as I travelled aimlessly into the distance. As I walked, I found myself wondering how I would go. I hoped a creeper would take me out. It'd be quick and painless; I'd be dead in an instant.

Then I thought about Sam. I knew she'd be devastated when I died. We had been best friends for nearly our whole lives. On top of that, I was the only surviving friend she had left. Then again, perhaps she felt the same way as me and would find relief in my death, knowing she wouldn't be hurting anyone if she killed herself as well.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I cursed under my breath and pulled the arrow out of my shoulder, watching the blood begin to pour out. I felt another sharp pain as another arrow scratched my neck, and it felt like it cut deep. It hurt like hell, but I knew that at least I'd bleed out more quickly from a neck wound. As I continued getting shot at by the skeleton's arrows, I really wished I'd chosen a better way to go. I didn't anticipate I'd die in such a slow and painful way.

However, just as I was feeling very weak from blood loss, I heard the familiar hiss of a creeper behind me…