Day 5

Your World is 30% Crimson

"Son of a biscuit eater," Kayla muttered.

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Been expanding your vocabulary?"

Kayla ignored him. Staring at the Plague had become an obsession the moment she saw it. Not because she wanted it to be, or because it was beautiful, or anything like that. On the contrary, it was uglier than anything she'd ever seen. No, it was the mysterious feeling of dread that compelled her. Dread, and something more. Pain, misery, death. And blood - the entire thing reeked of blood. She couldn't smell it, and she hoped she'd never be close enough to, but she could practically see the waves emanating off of every single red tinge there, and she knew, just knew, that it all stank of blood. That was partially why she was so drawn to it, like rain was drawn to a window. It doesn't want to hit the window, it just sort of does. That was how she felt as her eyes went deeper and deeper into the red-

"Don't look at it."

She shook her head to clear it. "Why not?"

"Can't you see it? The entire place is filed to the brim with death, the perfect bait for a Terrarian. Just looking at it too long will make you want to go inside more than anything." He shuddered. "Believe me, I know."

She blinked rapidly. "Death? The perfect bait? That's disgusting! What kind of sick person would be attracted to death?"

"Almost everyone," he answered quietly.

"You're…you're kidding, right?"

He turned so that she could see how serious his face was. "Not a bit."

Kayla exhaled quietly, the air causing some of her hair up front to fly back into her eye. She moved it back. "I don't believe this."

"That's because you're thinking of bait in the traditional sense. What do we use to catch bunnies?"

"Um, vegetables?"

"And what about fish?"

"Worms, mostly."

"And what if you want to attract a human-eater?"

"Another human. Of course, you kill the creature before it actually gets to the bait."

A small smile ran across Leo's face. "Well, we try. Now what do all of those have in common?"

Kayla thought for a few seconds before the answer came to her. "They're food. Attractive foods for the creatures that we want to capture."

"Exactly. Each piece of bait is something they like, something they want. That's bait in the traditional sense."

Kayla wasn't sure if she already knew the answer to this, but she asked anyway. "What does the Plague use?"

"I already told you. Death."

"But that…that doesn't-"

"Make sense? Miss Jynt, it makes perfect sense. It's the ultimate bait. Tell me, what eats, or, at least, is attracted to, dead flesh?"

"Scavengers?"

Leo nodded. "And nearly every other carnivore. Of course, some prefer fresh meat, but in general, food is better if it's not running away. That place always smells like something just died, attracting every predator in the vicinity, and once they enter, they turn into…"

Leo suddenly stopped, his face growing pale as a memory apparently flooded it. Kayla didn't want to disturb him, but she needed to know. "Turn into what?"

He looked at her with an almost blank expression. "Let's just say that when you see one, the picture will never leave your mind."

Kayla's hair began to stand on end as she imagined dozens of different, horrible monsters that could be lurking in that crimson tinge. She couldn't help but wonder if those from her town were among them- or how many. How many had survived the Blood Moon? Very few, she expected. She and Leo were trained warriors (at least, she assumed Leo was) and they'd barely survived it. The thought brought her back to the main question at hand.

"That's animals. How does it attract people?"

"Terrarians are different from animals. Most of us won't eat dead flesh, and we certainly aren't attracted to the smell of it. No, the Plague uses death to take advantage of one of our most basic instincts: Curiosity. What happens when we die? Nobody knows for sure."

"There's an underworld - that's where the Shadows and Wraiths come from. You know that."

"But is that it? I'd hate to think that all the heroes and brave people end up becoming demons in another realm alongside murderers. And we know there are gods out there - they've given us some of our greatest weapons. I'd think they'd be a little more fair."

"We could all end up like that cursed guy." Kayla offered. "Did you ever hear about him?"

"Yup. Wandered around hell forever right? What did they use on him to turn him back to normal? Holy Water?"

"Purification Powder. Did you hear what he did from then on?"

"Yep. Every night, he'd sneak into people's houses and steal some money from them. When caught, he'd always claim he was "collecting taxes," whatever that means." Leo grinned.

"Apparently some of the underworld's habits stayed with him." Kayla said, smirking. They shared a laugh.

Then Leo's face grew more serious. "The truth is, we don't know, so we're curious. We're curious about death. Then the Plague gives off an aura that enhances it, I guess. Makes it so that the curiosity is so strong that you want to go in, see what you can find. Then, well," at this his voice grew a great deal heavier, "you never make it out."

Kayla knew that he must have lost some friends, or maybe even family to the Plague. She actually began to feel sorry for him, if only a little. "What were their names?"

He knew what she was talking about; there was no need to ask. "Kevin, Finn, Iris…many more."

She placed her hand on his best leg, careful to pick a spot that wouldn't hurt. "I'm sorry."

He said nothing.

Kayla took another look at the Plague and stood up firmly. "We have to move. With luck, there's a nurse in the next town."

He eyed her. "Any ideas on how to get there?"

She sucked in her mouth. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. I can't move you, and if I leave, you'll die in three hours."

Leo closed his eyes. "Okay, tell me what we've got left. Both packs. Maybe I can think of something."

Kayla had already tried that three times, but it couldn't hurt to try it again. A new set of eyes could mean a lot. She began unpacking each item as she named it, starting with the things that were already unpacked.

"A frying pan, a fishing pole, plenty of bait, my spear, your now-useless silver sword-"

"Why's it now-useless?"

"It couldn't stand The Groom's strength. It's been dulled and is now nearly broken. You'll have to get a new one once we reach the next town."

Leo seemed slightly disappointed, but didn't say anything.

Kayla continued. "Three jugs of water, one grenade, a pair of wire cutters in case someone decides to guard their house and we want in, the grappling hook, quite a bit of money, a shackle or two, The Groom's Top Hat-"

"What?"

She took out the Top Hat and tossed it over to him. "It's a trophy, a sign that you beat The Groom. I intended to give it to you once you were fully healed."

Leo slowly moved his fingers along the brim of the hat until they met the gap between the fabric, where the axe head had hit. "Thanks."

Kayla stayed silent. Over the past two days, she'd nearly forgotten that Leo had taken on The Groom. And won. She'd never heard of anything so impressive. She actually felt ashamed for how much she chided him and argued with him. Anyone who could do what she'd seen him do should get more respect than that.

He gestured with his head to keep going.

"And an absurd amount of Pad Thai."

"You didn't eat any?"

"How could I? Why did you pack food that tastes like poison?"

He shrugged. "I like it."

Kayla was about to roll her eyes and say something back, but she remembered to hold her tongue.

"Is that it?" he asked.

She double-checked. "Yes."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Something's missing."

"Okay, what?"

"I'm not sure. It just feel like something's missing."

He stayed quiet for a few more minutes before his eyes shot open and he cried "Of course!"

Kayla hurried over to him. "What?"

"The flare gun!"

Kayla was confused for a moment. What flare gun? She didn't remember them having one-

And then she remembered. Leo had bought one at her town, in case of an emergency. Well, she'd say this qualified. "You must have dropped it during the Blood Moon!"

"I'll go find it," he said, forgetting his legs didn't work.

"No, you'll stay here and not die while I find it." Kayla said firmly. "Got it?"

Seeing that he didn't really have an option, he said "Got it."

"Good." Kayla left immediately. The sooner they found the flare gun, the sooner they could find shelter. The nearest town was seven miles away - they could only hope someone was looking in their direction.

It wasn't far to the site where they had spent the Blood Moon - only a quarter-mile or so. Zombie bodies dissipated about ten minutes after being slain, so Kayla didn't have long to gather up as many things as she could from them while fending more off during the nights and the Blood Moon, which explained the small haul they got out of the whole time. If Leo just dropped the flare gun, however, it should be somewhere in this area.

She was here. She saw, very clearly, the marks from the bombs that the clown she was fighting had thrown. She'd never fought a more fierce foe, nor one as deadly except for the King Slime from the previous day. He was fast, very fast, and threw so many bombs it was nigh impossible to avoid them all. One had exploded on her arm, sending it into waves of pain throughout the rest of the night and even now. Of course, none of it was nearly as bad as Leo's fight with The Groom. If he wasn't a hero, she'd eat her spear.

Of course, not a hero as in I-just-saved-a-cat-in-a-tree kind of hero. He had to have been born a hero. Only a hero would be so stupid and yet courageous at the same time. Only a hero would come up with mind-blowingly idiotic and suicidal plans to bring down his foes - and have them actually work. Only a hero could have faced down The Groom and won. Heroes were rare, very rare; the chances of you ever catching a glimpse of one, even if you didn't realize it, were microscopic, and here she was, on a noble mission of all heroic principals with one. And disrespecting him the whole way through.

And beginning to like him.

Beginning, mind you. He and she were on the same quest to warn people about the incoming danger because it was the right thing to do, but that didn't mean she had to like her partner. Though, of course, it would help.

She had to wonder, however, if what they were doing ultimately mattered. If the Plague was spreading so quickly, why send the people out of their towns and let them live the rest of their lives in a futile game of hide-and-seek, where the Plague was always the winner? Did it really make a difference?

But he had talked about needing to get to the Deathland; maybe that was it. The Deathland had already been claimed by life (too much life, too dangerous life, but life nonetheless). Maybe it couldn't also be claimed by death. Maybe reaching the Deathland would mean safety from the Plague. Of course, the Deathland would be no picnic, but it wouldn't kill you just by existing.

Obviously, Leo was hiding something. That was fine with her. She had a few skeletons in her own closet, and feared that if she demanded Leo tell her his secrets, he might demand the same of her. And she wasn't going there. Not with Leo, not with anybody.

She found it.

The Flare Gun was lying right there on the ground. She'd almost stepped on it. Carefully, she picked it up and checked it. Yes, it still had a flare in it. Good. She looked around for a better point to fire it, someplace where the town would most likely see the flare, but this already seemed like the best place. It was a clearing with few trees and just a few miles away from the town. She aimed it high, fired, and watched the flare go up, up, and out.

Now all they could do was wait and hope.

Hey, guys! Sorry about the long wait - I'm going to be totally honest with you: I forgot this even existed. I'll be updating more often, I promise! Of course, Terraria 1.3 is up now, I've been playing the heck out of it, and will be adding many of the main elements into the main storyline - it's going to take quite a different turn than I originally intended and that's a good thing. Remember the three Rs! Review, Rate, Redigit! See you next time!