Binds That Tie

Chapter 7: Night Of Terror

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update this, I had planned to update it on Halloween but time and me didn't get along so well and it didn't help that I got so fixed on Hero's Bane. Plus I had a severe writer's block on this. At least now I am refreshed. Anyways, enough of reading this blabber. Read and enjoy and don't forget to make suggestions! I might use them.

Steve held his arms tightly to his chest from the cool wind blowing against his tiny frame, the icy gale made him shiver visibly. The water pelting his face and soaked shoulders only made it worse, he had chills forming all down his body from the cold liquid. His teeth chattered loudly and he thought he could hear a different and more indistinguishable chattering that wasn't his own. He strained his eyes through the pouring rain and brought a hand up to wipe the water that drenched his face. He could see Herobrine make a sudden stop and pull something out of his inventory. The little duplicate held his head over a stick-like thing and pulled out a small silvery object before making a low striking sound with the item. A low glow suddenly illuminated the area around the boy and he pressed forward through the dense woods after taking out the compass and checking it.

The young miner noticed that Herobrine was holding the torch close to him as he moved onwards, it was like he was cold and was using the small fire to keep himself warm. Or at least that it was it looked like. That seemed like a weird prospect considering Herobrine was 'mister tough and invincible' though. But then again, it was getting pretty dark now and the thick foliage over their heads really made it darker than it should have been. Herobrine was practically human now anyways so that was reason enough, the torch didn't only work as a light or slight warmth provider, but also a security blanket. It was an object that made one feel safe. Steve admitted to himself that he used to cling to torches a lot when he was a kid, it kept the monsters away. Well, so he thought back then… when he 'was' a kid. But now the light didn't stop the creepers and the other vicious mobs around, only sunlight could hurt most of them. Regardless of the being's reasons, they needed to stop and make shelter from the cold wind and roaming mobs but the little demon wanted to continue. "Don't you think it's getting darker?" He asked but didn't receive and answer. Steve jumped in his place as a loud crack sounded from above, he immediately shot a glance through the leaves of the trees after seeing a flash across clouds of darkening grays.

A bolt of lightning split out and branched like a tree to Steve's left, he barely caught the quick flicker of intense light from the corner of his eye. The ground seemed to rumble under his feet as the thunder rolled and roared in a drumming fashion. The rain then seemed to turn into a torrential downpour and soaked him to the bone in seconds, even from under the thick foliage blocking out most of the sky he was still getting drenched. "Can we stop now?" He asked with a tone of misery, wishing that he could just build a little hut of dirt or wood and huddle around a small fire.

Again, he only got silence. Steve moved his forearm and held it over his eyes and squinted to see that Herobrine had stopped far up ahead again but this time he was up next to the trunk of a tree and still holding the torch closely. His arms were held close to his body too and the boy's teeth also chattered visibly, looking as though he was freezing from the cool drafts snaking through the woods. The miner could see rainwater leaking through the leafy branches and soaking the summoned one. Herobrine's torch was also starting to fade, the fire was dying down from the water. Steve then quickly sprinted over to the dying glow and the one clinging to it, the white-eyed boy looked so sad and miserable. The miner couldn't help but feel bad for one who's never had to freeze to just suddenly get cold.

"This weak body- … I curse it!" Herobrine suddenly narrowed his eyes and growled to himself, he then bent his head over the dying fire to keep it lit. The warmth it supplied was fading out fast and the rain grew heavier to his displeasure. The roaring thunder only made him sneer deeply, usually he'd be standing in the storm with a big grin on his face but he couldn't now. The sounds that once made him feel powerful now made him feel completely unhappy and irritated. He could no longer regulate his core body temperature so the dampness of his clothes and the gales from the thunderstorm only combined to make him freeze. He didn't mind the lightning since it couldn't hurt him, … or it used to not hurt him. He shook his head in anger. "No, I'm probably not immune to the strikes anymore either."

"Herobrine?"

He looked up as the miner came close and joined him under the oak tree. "Get away from me mortal, this is my tree."

Steve instantly frowned and narrowed his eyes from the other's selfishness. "Well-. I was feeling bad for you but now I just take it back."

"I don't need your pity." The white-eyed one muttered darkly. His eyes went wide after the torch was doused out completely from moving around and letting water drip onto it.

"Okay Herobrine." He said taking a few steps away from the oak with his arms crossed until he was standing in the cold downpour. "It's getting late now, so I think we should stop here. I can barely see your face from underneath there." Steve was actually quite surprised that he couldn't even see the bright glow that once came from the being's orbs, he couldn't see anything but the outline of the kid and the dying embers on the wet torch.

The young irate child growled and then tramped away from the tree and walked past the miner before giving him a rough shove with his shoulder, completely displaying the rage he had without a word. He also threw the dampened torch to his side while murmuring silently to himself.

"Hey?!" Steve complained with a frustrated tone, his duplicate just pushed him out of spite and anger and he was just trying to console the demon because he felt bad for him. "It's practically night! Let's just stop and rest here?" He said with a slightly persuasive tone of voice but it went ignored. "Are you even listing to me?" He asked as he moved closer to Herobrine. He looked over the being's shoulder from a distance to see the kid struggling to get a good look at the compass, not even the young miner himself could see the marked directions on the small trinket since it was just too dark. Actually, without the torch it was pretty had to see through the trees and this unnerved the miner. Mobs were out there and it was virtually nighttime.

"I want out of this cursed body now." Herobrine started darkly. "I will stop at nothing to be free of this wretched and pathetic form, even if I have to walk all night!"

"You said we could rest at night!"

Herobrine turned his head with a nasty scowl on his face, the flickering lightning only highlighted his deep features of seriousness.

Steve found himself taking a step back from the deep expression of rage.

"We are not stopping!" He was tired of the pain, tired of his limbs being sore, tired of being cold and weak and hunger pangs only made it worse. The human must have been used to the feeling of being weak and cold, after all; he didn't once have a body that was nearly flawless and kept him comfortable at all times. Nothing could barely hurt him in his larger form, maybe a diamond sword as some people had struck him with. One in particular, Steve's father; being one to actually damage him and maybe even some spells from the other cultists but he always healed and recovered quickly. Which meant that the pain that he did feel didn't last long at all so pain sort of didn't exist to him.

"I can't believe you!" Steve stomped a foot down and coiled his small fingers into a fist.

Ignoring the young miner again, Herobrine quickly pulled out another torch from his inventory and relit it with the flint and steel. He then held it close again but immediately pulled it away and pat at his chest with a small yelp. He grimaced and growled after moving the flames too close to his shirt and feeling a burning sensation. His shirt almost caught on fire if weren't soaked, the heat coming from the burning stick was too much to bear so he had no choice but to pull it away. Now it was getting wet and losing a lot of it's luminosity, this made the being grunt and kick the dirt at his heels in frustration.

Steve felt his rage subside once more. Herobrine must have been really cold to put the burning stick so close to himself, did he not realize that it would burn him? The good child let his frown and narrowed eyes soften. He sighed quietly to himself and continued a slow and steady walk behind the other who continued his pace with the lit torch held out in front of him, using the dim light to see the compass and the unmarked path through the darkening woods.

He thought his luck couldn't get any worse but it did. Steve jumped again from an abrupt flash of light and the loud clap of thunder. But almost intravenously, a loud screech came from out of nowhere. He froze in place and shuddered from the familiar screech of an arachnid, it sounded loud which was proof enough that it was close by and all he had to fight it was with a wooden sword that couldn't cut though a melon. His blue eyes immediately darted all around the woods around him, they were lucky to have walked so long without coming across a mob but that could change in an instant if they didn't walk around the monster.

"H-herobri-ne?" He said shakily. "There's a spi-"

"I know that." The little demon spat lightly. "Nothing I can't handle." He continued to walk ahead courageously.

The miner shook his head in disbelief, this haughty kid was going to get himself killed. His powers were gone and he was completely helpless as witch Annah had said, his only tool of defense was a wooden pick which was even more useless as a weapon. Herobrine couldn't use any spells or items in his inventory to do any damage to mobs, the flint and steel could burn the monsters but it wouldn't do any good in the rain. The torch in the being's hands was already growing weak from the heavy drops, it seemed like a sign; looking as though the miner's hopes were slowly going out with the flames.

Steve heard the screech again as they walked a few more steps and this time he could tell that the mob was really close, sounding like it was just ahead of the path they were on. "Stop!" He stopped on his heels, feeling his legs wobble as he pulled out his wooden 'toy' and held it close. Fear flooded the miner's mind, he didn't feel so daring and strong; at least not as a kid.

The white-eyed clone had also stopped and tilted his head back with a deep frown. "What is it now?"

"Look, I know that you think you can 'handle' the spider but I don't think either of us can, even if we took it on together. We should steer clear and go around the creepy sounds instead of walking straight into it."

Herobrine scoffed and continued to move forward. "What a coward?"

"I'm trying to get us out of these woods alive you know? We need to take a safer route. … We're kids for Notch's sake! We can't fight monsters!" Steve lightly glared at the being's back but the shifting sounds of leaves just blocks away made him bolt after the brave one. His intuition was telling him that they were bound for some real trouble but with Herobrine being so stubborn he just had to do the right thing and try to defend his enemy.

With one more step through the thick grass Herobrine pulled out his wooden pickaxe as the arachnid screeched even louder than before. He looked around himself to see nothing through the trees, it was really hard to see anything at all with the low glow of the dying torch.

"Above you!" Steve suddenly shouted from behind with a hand raised and pointing up at the tree above the small demi-god.

Herobrine's eyes shot up to see a black form clinging to the underside of the huge tree he stood under, he lightly gaped as eight dimly glowing red dots looked down upon him with hunger. White orbs went wide as the spider tilted it's body and leapt from it's upside-down position; down at the small kid. Herobrine grimaced as the surprisingly heavy mob jumped at him and knocked him down flat onto his back. He quickly found that he couldn't move with the weight keeping him pinned, even the arachnids disgusting fuzzy legs kept him cradled underneath the monster so he couldn't roll out of it's loose grasp. It wasn't seconds more before he realized that the wooden pick in his hands was missing, he glanced to his side to see it close by, he then stretched an arm out quickly to grab onto it but it was just barely out of reach. His eyes immediately moved back onto the screeching spider and he withdrew his arm as fangs plunged into the ground where his appendage was just at. He barely dodged the swift bite.

He just stood there. Steve felt so much fear, more than he had ever before. Maybe not as much as he had last night when Herobrine tried to kill him; he was more frightened then, but there was some deep seeded terror he had and being a kid is probably what created it. He never felt so defenseless in his entire life, being so small and having little to no muscles made him feel so weak and powerless. The darkness that surrounded him only heightened his fear, the only light that he could see was the dim and warm glow coming from the torch several blocks away and the fleeting flashes from lightning. The torch was lying on the ground in front of Herobrine who was pinned down by the large black mob, a mob that used to be much more smaller from his memories. The being looked to be in some real trouble but Steve just couldn't get his legs to move forward, it's like he was trapped in a pit of mud.

The spider's black fangs came down towards the struggling boy and he quickly jerked his neck to the side to avoid getting pierced by the sharp incisors. He then shot his balled up hand up to punch the underside of the creature's head but not even his small fist could do enough damage to deter the mob from trying to take another bite. After dodging another attempted bite, Herobrine then kicked wildly with the tips of his feet at it's lower abdomen to make it crawl off of him but it remained sturdy in it's position and ignored the small pains, the little boy just couldn't hit it hard enough. Starting to panic, Herobrine brought his fist up again and struck the arachnid's head. The black mob only shook it's head from the small strike and realigned it's mandibles before taking two of it's front legs and pinning both of his arms down at his sides.

Herobrine squirmed in his spot and tried to pull his arms free but he wasn't strong enough, he continued to kick away at the spider but not even his kicks were strong enough either. He didn't know what to do now, he couldn't get the mob off with his fists and kicking did little to help. He was trapped and the mob was getting ready to bite again, he flailed about once more with his kicks. Sadly, it still wasn't enough. His eyes went wide and he screamed as the black mob reared it's head back and shot it's fangs forward in one swift motion.

It happened too fast, too quick to avoid. Herobrine let out a horrid cry as the spider sunk it's fangs into his right shoulder, his cry seemed to echo loudly throughout the woods. He moved just enough to prevent being bit in the neck but he couldn't move quick enough to fully avoid being bit at all, two hot daggers had dug deep into his flesh and they burned like an intense white flame as the spider drew blood out from his body. Herobrine screamed even louder as the mob dug in deeper and sapped up more of his life-fluid, each draw of crimson from his veins burned and stung and it made him feel weaker with each gulp of his fluid.

Steve blinked and blinked again from the scene before him, the sharp cry had instantly snapped him out of his fearful trance. His legs now moved on his own and propelled him forward, he felt a strength bubbling up from the pit of his stomach and an anger that just seemed to come from out of nowhere. Steve's blue eyes stayed upon the grounded form and watching the boy scream out and lash at the mob in attempts to get it off only made his feet move quicker. Steve narrowed his eyes and screamed at the top of his lungs as he neared the spider, his wooden sword was soon held out in a jousting fashion and he ran the wooden object straight into the mob's head once he closed the distance.

The spider withdrew it's fangs immediately from the impact of the slightly pointed object that was jabbed into it's face, it screeched in pain and stumbled off of the boy. It brought up two of it's legs to wipe at one of it's damaged eyes that the miner had thrust the sword into.

Herobrine shouted out from the fire in his veins and clasped a hand onto his wound after the fangs were removed, he rolled on the ground and writhed from the pain shooting up and down his bitten appendage. He grimaced deeply and hissed from touching the bite mark, his squirming came to an abrupt stop as two arms scooped underneath his shoulders and looped over them to keep them in place. He felt himself being partially lifted.

Herobrine's eyes snapped open and he gazed intently up at the human that was now dragging him away from the agitated spider. He didn't even know what the mortal was even doing. Why would he be wasting his strength and time to save his enemy's hide? It didn't make any sense to him. … But then again, the human wouldn't be able to return to normal without him.

Steve kept his own gaze behind him as he walked backwards with swift steps, occasionally looking back at the injured mob to see if it was going to come at him. His eyes went wide and he growled under his breath. The miner really didn't have too much energy to waste, the adrenaline he got from watching the spider bite his dark copy gave him some power to move around but with a dull weapon it was going to be hard to face the arachnid and Herobrine's own pathetic excuse of a weapon was back near the spider so he wasn't going to get much help from the being. He lowered Herobrine gently onto the ground and he pulled out his wooden weapon from his inventory, his teeth clinched tightly as the spider recovered and made a swift crawl towards him.

A low moan soon came from his right and he turned his head to see the groaning mob but it was shrouded by the trees and the dark of the night. Another moan soon sounded from behind and Steve felt his anger collapse in on itself, fear started to rise again. He could fight the spider but taking on it and two or more flesh eaters with his dull sword and all by himself? It didn't seem possible. Things were starting to look very bleak. He glanced down at Herobrine to see him still rubbing his wound with a pained expression, but as the spider neared that face almost instantly fell into one of terror.

A/N: It might not be as good as Hero's Bane but this story has it's own quality that makes it so unique. :3 Well this is probably a surprise update considering I posted Chapter 59 of Hero's Bane just last Sunday. So that's 2 updates in 2 days and how did I do that?! :D Anyways, hope you enjoyed and please review.

Also, check out Hero's Bane if you haven't already! It's a great story so far and the latest chapters will rock your world!