Hey y'all, it's Ender! I hope you've been having a great day and I hope to make it even better with this new chapter! NOTE: I do NOT own Minecraft or any YouTubers mentioned in this story.
Chapter 2
Taylor took a deep breath and checked that his amulet was safely tucked away under his shirt. Good. It was. Even the bronze chain was barely visible. He knew the townsfolk wouldn't approve of him having an amulet as his Charm of Power – they were always said to have been cursed.
But amulets aside, it was time to set a new parkour record.
Garanora being tucked away deep in the mountains had its advantages. One, all the craggy peaks and narrow slopes made excellent pathways for parkouring. Two, this made for a monthly competition in which only the bravest and the most talented would risk the deadly slopes.
And this would be the first time Taylor was competing in it, so he was determined to do the best out of everyone.
But he would be up against a challenge – the number one parkour master in Garanora would be competing as well, just like always. Even though he was just a few years older than Taylor, he had beaten even the most experienced parkour master before.
In a competition, it would be easy to hate someone who was better than you. Unfortunately, this champion made it hard to do so.
Declan, or 'Dec' as he was more commonly known, was possibly the nicest young man you could ever hope to meet. He never gloated, and never played dirty. He had many friends in the village and only a few people actually hated him for winning the parkour competitions almost every single time. He was definitely an optimist, but there was no one who could match him in parkour.
Taylor was worried.
He checked that his amulet was hidden again for the umpteenth time that morning, glancing around nervously. Despite the chill that was still left over from yesterday, the streets of Garanora were now filled with the townsfolk, chattering excitedly about the competition. It would be especially interesting, as there was a slick sheet of ice over everything – which to the competitors, was just another natural obstacle that they had to work around. Nothing hampered them – they were tough, built for the rough mountain life.
Finding the amulet still safely hidden, Taylor's gaze searched the crowd, looking for Jordan. His best friend had promised not to tell anyone about the amulet, but Taylor was still on edge.
Finally, he spotted Jordan, talking with his girlfriend, Erin. Taylor smiled and slowly made his way over to the two, pausing for a few moments as he almost ran into Dec.
Dec was rather short and wiry, but he was strong. He had a shock of bright ginger hair that constantly fell into his eyes, yet he refused to get it cut or even trimmed. He wore a pale yellow cloak over his dark red T-shirt, and had on his usual friendly smile.
"Good luck today, Taylor," Dec grinned. "Maybe this will be the day someone beats me. I wouldn't doubt you."
"Thanks," Taylor nodded, surprise filling his heart at the compliment. Dec thought Taylor was good enough to beat him? Well, that was interesting.
Dec walked away, leaving Taylor to continue on his path to Jordan and Erin. Erin was laughing, her sparkling green eyes alight with humour as Jordan smirked at her, apparently telling some joke. Jordan's smile fell when he saw Taylor though, and the latter felt his heart sink.
"Hey," Taylor greeted glumly when he drew close to Jordan, all the excitement of the parkour competition drained away by his best friend's accusing glare. Erin glanced between the two young men, confused as to why one was hostile and the other dejected.
"Hey," Jordan's voice was short and tight, clearly not forgiving Taylor for the events in the previous day. "Good luck today. Who knows – maybe you'll even come in second."
Taylor winced. Ouch. That was harsh. Jordan usually supported Taylor – but compared to Dec's compliment, Jordan's statement was downright devastating.
"Jordy…" Erin's voice held a warning tone. "What is going on? Did you and Taylor have an argument again?"
"It's nothing, Erin," Jordan said gruffly. "Let's go watch the competition. I wonder how far ahead Dec will finish before the others this time." Jordan walked away and Erin cast a helpless, apologetic glance at Taylor before following.
Taylor stared after the couple, his eyes filled with hurt and betrayal. He had never felt more lost and alone than he did right now after Jordan's coldness; all because of the amulet.
'Don't be upset,' the voice of the amulet spoke in Taylor's mind. 'You don't need a friend who rejects you. Besides, you have me, remember?'
Taylor snorted and glanced around again to make sure no one was listening to him, then quietly responded, "Yes, because an amulet that I found in a creek is such lovely company."
The voice huffed, but didn't reply and Taylor smirked victoriously. But he couldn't talk with the amulet's voice anymore – he had to get to the grounds of the parkour competition which was about a quarter of the way up what was known as Skycloud Mountain.
Once arriving along the plateau where the starting point was, Taylor had to navigate his way through the ever-thickening crowd. Once or twice, he caught a couple glimpses of Jordan, but neither he nor his friend approached each other again.
"Taylor!" Taylor whipped his head around when he heard Dec's voice rise above the crowd. He grinned when he saw the champion waving at him and gesturing to come over. Taylor dutifully made his way over to Dec, weaving around the crowd and receiving the 'good lucks' and 'have funs' whispered to him with a grateful nod.
Finally, he stood before Dec, and for the first time, Taylor noticed that he was actually a couple inches taller than the reigning champion. Actually, almost everyone was taller than Dec. Ironic, really.
"Alright, Taylor. So I presume you know the path?" Dec asked, concern hinting his tone. "It's dangerous if it's your first time competing and ice can make it all the more deadly if you're unprepared for this race. One little slip and you could end up with broken bones – or worse."
"I can do it," Taylor said determinedly, trying to mask his doubt. "I've practiced before – though never in these conditions, I will admit. And never against anyone else."
Dec smiled reassuringly, but it was almost completely overlaid by the worry still shadowing his gaze. "Then I wish you the best of luck," Dec's gaze suddenly grew distant and he took out his Charm of Power – a small silver token with an engraving of a snowflake on it. "Yes, maybe this will be the day where I am finally beaten."
Taylor was confused by Dec's sudden mood change, but didn't question it, instead brushing the matter aside as all the competitors began to line up at the starting line, staying silent as they started to focus on the task ahead. Taylor swallowed and lined up beside Dec, who was just putting his Charm of Power away. The champion's eyes were now narrowed in concentration, but they were also blurred with a hint of sadness.
"You all know the rules, competitors," The village leader's voice rang out over the crowd. "But be extra careful – the ice can be hazardous. And prepare to get running in three…"
Taylor swallowed, his throat dry. He couldn't choke back his nervousness now; this was actually happening.
"Two…"
'You'll do fine, Taylor. I can feel it.'
"One!"
Taylor took off, easily dodging the slippery patches of ice on the plateau. The cheers from the crowd rose up from behind the competitors as the race truly began. Taylor rounded the first corner, keeping his weight low to avoid sliding around and grasped onto a scraggly bush to help keep his balance even further.
Dec was slightly ahead but was drawing further away at a steady pace. Taylor gritted his teeth, leaping over a fallen log – the first obstacle. He was going to win this. He knew it.
A long, deep scar was carved into the path straight ahead of Taylor, leading straight down the mountainside. Dec jumped over easily, not pausing for even half a second. Taylor barely hesitated before following suit and feeling a flash of fear as his foot slipped on the ice on the near side. He managed to make it across, but just barely. Quickly calming his pounding heart, Taylor ran on, hearing a faint scream behind him as one of the other competitors didn't quite make it across.
The parkour continued, boulders and clefts providing challenging obstacles. Taylor had finally started to gain ground on Dec about halfway through the course, but that was when it began to get even harder. Jumps were wider and longer and once, when they had to jump down into a pine tree, Dec hesitated long enough for Taylor to reach him before he finally jumped and landed perfectly within the prickly branches.
The other competitors had fallen well behind, and the finish line wasn't even in sight yet before disaster struck.
Taylor was racing Dec side by side when they came to a particularly sharp corner rounding the mountainside. There was a thick coating of ice over the corner, and Taylor, being on the inside of the path, was able to grab onto the rocky wall as his feet slipped out from under him. Dec, however, screamed as he fell to his side and continued to slide…
Right off the edge of the cliff.
Taylor cried out and lunged forwards, all thoughts of winning instantly leaving his mind. He slid over to the edge of the cliff, gripping onto the edge of a jagged rock to keep from falling off himself.
Dec was dangling on the almost-vertical cliffside, holding onto a patch of weakly-anchored grass with one hand, his eyes filled with terror. "Help me!" he wailed when he saw Taylor staring down at him, his voice nothing but pure, raw, fear. "Please, help me!"
Taylor reached down with his right hand, horror almost paralyzing him. "Grab my hand!" Taylor called down, stretching his arm out as far as it could go. Dec tried desperately to grasp his hand and after several attempts, managed to get a hold on Taylor's hand.
"Hold on," Taylor gritted his teeth. "I'm not going to let you go. Just hold on!" Taylor frantically tried to pull Dec up but he found the other young man too heavy. Dec screamed again as he swung dangerously, sending a few stray pebbles tumbling noisily down the cliff.
'What has he ever done for you?' the amulet's voice hissed. 'Why bother trying? It would be so easy just to let him drop.'
Taylor forced the voice to the back of his mind, still trying to haul Dec up. The champion locked his gaze with Taylor's for just a second and in that one second, Taylor saw the pure fear that Dec felt.
'Let go of him!' the voice screamed and suddenly, against his will, Taylor's limbs locked up. Dec's hand slipped out of his own and the champion fell, screaming at the top of his lungs, down, down, down, falling through the misty clouds and out of sight.
It was the worst moment in Taylor's life when Dec's wails came to an abrupt stop.
"Why did you do that?" Taylor screeched at the voice, tears welling in his eyes. "Why did you make me let go of his hand? I hate you!"
'I did what was necessary,' the voice snapped back. 'You would have fallen too if you had held onto him for much longer! I was saving your life! Now go complete the race, or do I have to make you do that too?'
Taylor choked out more sobs as he slowly clambered to his feet, heading back up the mountain path at a slight jog. He didn't try as hard to get over the jumps, barely making it each time. Finally, he struggled up a craggy peak and saw the finish line straight ahead, tears still streaming down his face. Taylor ignored the gasps and the cheers rising up from the crowd waiting at the finish line, but they slowly died down as Taylor drew closer and they saw just how distraught he was.
"Taylor!" Suddenly Taylor saw Jordan shoving his way through the crowd to try to get to him, the earlier accusatory glare he held now replaced with a frantic panic. Jordan broke away and ran over to his best friend as Taylor collapsed over the finish line, letting out broken wails. "Taylor! What happened? Where's Dec?"
"He – he fell!" Taylor sobbed, hearing the collective gasp of all the onlookers. "I – I tried to save him but – but," Taylor lapsed into another wave of tears at the horrible memory.
"Go down there and check!" Jordan snapped, hugging Taylor as his friend starting trembling violently, choking on his tears. Someone else nodded and darted off down the mountain, taking a safer route down. It wasn't long before everyone heard a horrified cry drift up the mountain.
"He's dead!"
DEC! NOOOOO!
Random Observation: The people who've read the Mianite Collection know very well who Dec is - and how much I love to write about him. So why kill him immediately? Because I needed to prove to everyone that the feels are going to be strong.
DiamondScribe: I am da pun master - I learned from the one and only CaptainSparklez! XD
PrincessNyx15: Thank you!
PrincessLyoka: To be fair, I never finished reading the Fellowship of the Ring. However, I do love the Hobbit! That was a really good book.
TheDeadGirlRisenTroller: I will! Thanks!
RusYRP: Thanks! And legit, one of my notes is "Jordan has been friends with Taylor since they were kids"... WAIT. NO. YOU'VE BEEN READING MY NOTES, HAVEN'T YOU?! NOOOOO! YOU KNOW EVERYTHING NOW! (For some reason I found that extremely funny!)