Isaac's new friend called himself Cain. Afterwards, they set off for exploration.
Isaac was determined to make a good first impression on Cain, but there wasn't much to discuss. He still went for it the best he could.
"What was attached to your copper cord?" Isaac queried.
Cain smiled. "It's this boot," he said, lifting his foot up. "It's warm and leathery, but most of all, it feels lucky."
"I found a die," Isaac sighed, somewhat disappointed. "It doesn't seem to useful, but I guess it's good when I'm bored."
"I'm sure you'll find a use of it," Cain reassured. "As far as we know, there isn't much that couldn't happen. That die could be life or death." A drop of water from the melty ceiling splashed on his arm, and he shook it off, then stated, "It's cold out here, but the ceilings are still melting. It doesn't make sense."
"Maybe it's deliberate," Isaac replied. "They could be doing that just to slow us down, even if just a small bit."
Isaac looked at Cain's face, and he looked a bit confused. "'They'? Who's 'they'?"
He noticed the mistake he made, but knew how to back it up to not be embarrassed. "I don't know, but it seems deliberate, and if it's deliberate, then someone did it."
"Or something," Cain suggested, then shuddered at the thought. If it's deliberate, then they're going to keep us back worse ways than just melting ice, Isaac thought. I'll rely on Cain, though. We're gonna get through this together.
Suddenly the floor shook slightly, yet violently. Then again, this time stronger. "What's that?" Isaac asked worriedly.
"Whatever it is, we need to get away from it," Cain considered. "It's not going to be a giant happy face with a party hat."
"Well, where should we go?" Isaac inquired, but the quakes were getting louder and it was hard to hear. "We should run back," Isaac suggested, trying to stay as calm as possible. It wasn't easy at all.
They both started to sweat, and when they saw a giant figure from afar coming towards them, they bolted the opposite direction. "Sprint as fast as you can!" Isaac yelled, hoping Cain could hear him. He couldn't even pick up what he was thinking, but he said the obvious, so it didn't matter too much. What mattered was getting away from the thing and hope it doesn't follow them to something like a dead end.
Eventually they began to run out of breath, but Isaac kept pushing on as much as he could. Cain, on the other hand, lost all energy and collapsed. He wailed for help, but it was to no use. Isaac would most likely die if he got close, and he wouldn't be able to help Cain much. Cain could help himself more than Isaac could. However, Isaac still ran back, simply because of the fact that the little help is still something.
The monster at long last found its next meal. He wanted to enjoy it as much as he could, and knew it wouldn't be hard considering the meal was already nearly defenseless, and the other had nothing that could hurt him at all. He took hold of Cain, who yelled louder, still to no use. There isn't much that couldn't happen, Isaac thought courageously, and did the one most craziest yet possibly most effective thing he could do. He threw his die at the monster and hoped for the best.
What happened next was perhaps the most unexpected of the unexpected. The die landed on a 6, and sucked in the monster slowly by its foot. The monster was confused and hungry, but, analyzing its situation, it wouldn't get food any time soon, so it just wanted to do whatever messed them up. He smashed Cain to the ground and, just as he was about to be whisked away inside the die, he threw him to the wall. Right then and there, it ended. The monster entered the die and the die transformed it and spat it out into a bird. It flew away and left the pair to deal with whatever happened.
Isaac's first and only thought was to check on Cain. He regained all his energy and dashed to him. He's fine, he's fine, everything's fine, we'll just teleport out and we'll be fine, Isaac thought insanely, then tried to bring himself to the situation. I need to help in any way I can.
Cain laid on the side of the wall, his one eye closed, his other...not there. What was there before was replaced by blood and the socket. The rest of his body was scratches, cuts, and bruises, but his eye was the worst spot. He needed that patched up immediately.
However, as he was going to tear a part of his clothes to make a temporary patch, he heard fast steps coming his way. It wasn't another monster, but he was cautious and in the middle of something serious, so he turned around quickly to see what it was.
His mouth gaped. She was beautiful. She had long, bouncy curls of blonde hair and a swift yet graceful stride towards him and his injured friend. Her piercing blue eyes were like the full moons at twilight, right in the middle of the sky and shining light on everything. But then he remembered about his friend and he shook his head, focusing on the problem. She approached with some materials and a giant plush heart. That heart must have been what she got in her cell, he thought. It looks like it would help.
They immediately went to work. Isaac really wanted to talk to her, but he knew his priorities. She had no materials to help his eye, so he tore off the bottom portion of his shirt and made a makeshift eyepatch.
As he was about to put it on, Cain awoke. "...Ugh..." he sighed, then pulled in a deep breath. "Will I be fine? ...Isaac, please...tell me I'll be fine..."
Isaac hid his face. He tried to act determined and hopeful, but on the inside he was anxious and desperate. He forced out words that would make him feel well. "You'll be fine. It's very likely you'll be fine in the next day or so, even." He didn't know that for sure, but even false hope is hope.
Cain put on a strained smile, then passed out again.
He put on the eyepatch. The woman used her materials to help the more quantified yet more minor wounds. Once they were done, Cain's body seemed half bandage, half human.
Isaac groaned and laid down. He's had enough for one day—escaping from what seemed like a prison just for his friend to end up what seemed like a mummy. At least he was alive, that's all the good news he could consider unchangeably true.
The woman wiped her arm across her forehead, then sighed and sat beside Isaac. "Are you okay? What happened?" she questioned.
Isaac noticed he'd been holding his breath most of the time. He exhaled slowly and tiredly, then proceeded: "Cain and I got out of our cells and decided to go explore, but then we saw that monster that—"
"Monster?" the woman repeated, shocked. She seemed bothered and worried. "Did it get you at all? I'd be fine to patch you up, too."
"No, I'm fine, at least physically," he replied, "but mentally? I'll need a lot of sleep to heal that up."
First (and likely only) ship already been solidified. Give me all the hate, I'll be fine with it. lel.
Again, if someone would like to send me a new cover image, I would love that.
Thanks for reading.
- SF