Hey guys, sorry for the inactivity. I've been on a bit of a hiatus due to writer's block and school. Any way here's chapter seven!

Homestuck belongs to Andrew Hussie. The characters on this story belong to myself and a friend.


Chapter 7 Markos

Astris sat in silence for a few moments, watching the high-blood. She and took a calming breath. "It's alright; we aren't going to hurt you. We want to help you…" she said quietly to the trembling indigo-blood. Behind her, Alpheus swallowed thickly before he too spoke. "Please, do not be alarmed. She is right. We are here to assist you; you're the first we've seen in quite a while." A pause.

The Highblood then tilted his head at him, and it took a great deal of Alpheus' self-control not to shiver when those high-strung indigo eyes pointed in his direction. He cleared his throat before continuing. "How long have you been hiding down here?" The higher troll stared at the two for what seemed like hours before he spoke, his voice rough from disuse. "Four weeks…" He growled at Astris as she attempted to get closer to him, causing the she-troll to settle back into a crouch where she still sat.

Astris narrowed her eyes slightly, keeping them trained on the troll in case he did try to lunge at her or Alpheus. "Was that your friend? Back there at the ladder?" There was silence as the indigo-blood continued to stare at her, refusing to answer until she asked the question again. "That dead troll back there, the blue-blood. Was he your friend?" The troll looked from Astris to Alpheus and back a few times before he spoke. "…Yes… My friend." The troll buried his face in his hands as his shoulders began to shake and translucent indigo leaked from between his fingers. "He did this! That…that son of a bitch killed him!" His voice rose as he cried.

Astris opened her mouth to ask who killed this troll's friend, but her mind flashed back to the drawings. She had a hunch that her answers were on the wall behind her. She reached out and curled her arms around the Highblood, giving him an awkward hug as she murmured to him, trying to calm him again. Alpheus watched the indigo troll for a little longer before he handed him an unopened bottle of water. The indigo-blooded he-troll took it gratefully and downed nearly half of the bottle before he stopped. "Here, drink. You must be thirsty," he spoke slowly and clearly, waiting for the indigo blood to accept it.

"T-thanks…" The indigo-blood mumbled. Astris quietly laughed. "You're welcome and it's not a problem. There's more water if you need it." She smiled, hoping to give the highblood some kind of reassurance. "Even though our world has gone to hell, there are always some who are kind to those who need some kindness." She said. Looking at Alpheus, she smiled. The look of fear and danger faded from the troll's indigo colored eyes. The indigo-blood nodded.

He silently breathed in relief, watching as the anxious fear and high-strung look disappeared from the Highblood's eyes; he could pick up on no negative emotions from the indigo-blood, and he felt himself relax as a smile graced his lips. "You must've had it harder than most of us on the surface," he spoke softly. Silence overtook the lime-blooded troll as he remembered something else, staring at the Highblood calmly. "What's your name?" he asked politely, his green eyes glimmering curiously. "I'm Alpheus and she's Astris."

The indigo-blooded he-troll took a few moments before he answered. When he did respond to Alpheus' question, his voice was quiet, almost like he was afraid to reveal the three trolls' location to any nearby enemies. "Markos… My name's Markos." After a minute of silence, he looked back at Astris. "Sorry about earlier… are you okay?"

Astris blinked a few times, mild surprise showing clearly on her face. "It's nothing too serious. I hit my head, but it doesn't hurt too much." She said, running her fingers lightly along the patch of sensitive skin, wincing a little at the new wave of pain that her light prodding caused. She smiled at the indigo-blooded he-troll who looked away, ashamed of his earlier actions when the two trolls attempted to help him. "I can understand why you ran. You were afraid. No one can blame you." The green-blooded she-troll said, a hint of laughter creeping into her voice.

Alpheus grinned as Astris laughed, refastening his knapsack and readjusting the straps. His grin faltered as the same ominous feeling, the same feeling he felt before entering this place, crept over him like the blanket of darkness that stretched across the sky outside. Anxiety settled deep within him as his gaze shifted left and right. He swore he heard something just now. "Markos, Astris. We have to leave. Now." He whispered, unease creeping over him again, stronger this time. "We can't stay here."

Astris picked up the urgency in her fellow green-blood's voice. Looking at him, she nodded. Turning to Markos, she held out her hand to help him up. The indigo-blood reached out to take hold of her hand and get to his feet, pausing and looking around frantically. "I-It's coming back… He's not dead. Why… Why. Why. Why. Why?!" He curled up into a ball on the hard, concrete floor and rocked back and forth, mumbling to himself. The frightened troll wrapped his arms around himself and continued to mumble as his indigo eyes darted around the dimly lit corridor.

Astris retracted her arm and quickly bent down to pick up her knife and walked behind Alpheus and picked up the cleaver, handing it to the lime-blood. Alpheus was right; something was off about this place. "Come on Markos." Astris said, stopping to turn around and look at the high-blood Markos hesitantly stood and followed after the two trolls, looking around the dark corridor as they walked back to the entrance.

The lime-blood looked between his fellow mid-blood and the indigo-blooded troll. His brow quirked at Markos' statement. He nodded in silent thanks as Astris returned his weapon. his heart hammering wildly in his chest, a wild, unsteady rhythm repeating over and over again. He watched as fear seeped back into the high-blood's eyes before the taller he-troll started on his way back to the entrance. He followed the set of muddy foot prints, too large for his own feet to fit into, that Markos left in his wake.

Astris looked around the room as the other two trolls started down the corridor she and Alpheus had come through when they had followed Markos. Something was off. An uneasy feeling settled into the pit of her stomach as she turned to follow after the other two. Being a few yards behind, she caught up quickly as she jogged after them. She slowed her pace as she heard the others' foot steps stop. Had they started climbing the ladder? No, she didn't hear their feet hitting the metal bars of the ladder as she would have if they were ascending to the outside.

Rounding the last corner, she saw the two he-trolls. She picked up her pace and was about to call out to them until something struck her as strange.. She remembered that when she and Alpheus had entered, there was the corpse of the blue-blood lying just below the ladder. Now, there was nothing more than the dark-blue stain left on the ground and the blue hand prints along the wall. At first, she thought they had come to another entrance, but she soon dismissed the thought as another pushed its way into her mind.

"... Alpheus, where's the body?" She asked as a sudden wave of unease settled over her. "Good question," he responded, feeling the color drain from his face. He blanched in surprise as Markos walked a few steps ahead and continued muttering to himself. His head whipped around, lime-green eyes glaring into and scanning the darkness that surrounded them. His hand that held his small flashlight moved the small device, the light rolling along the floor with the movement. The small beam of light traveled over the floor and followed a trail of dark blue drops of blood over to... a pair of muddy sneakers?