VIRAL

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Terraria, or any of its assets. All that I own are Ericon, Emilon, Hal, Griffah, Solaris, Vortine, Nebulite, Stardon, Terra, the Chlorophyters, the Nethrons, the Hallownites, the Griefer Squad, the Crimstars, the Spectres, the Spectrals, the Dracos, the Titans, and the Counsel of the Moon Lord.

Ch. 5:

*RAAAAGGGGGHHHHH*

"Ericon, just… just stay in here. I'll go out and deal with the zombies. After, I'll pour out the stew and teach you how to use that bow. Just stay put, alright?"

She turned and headed out the entrance. As soon as the leggy, green-scaled girl exited, a loud chorus of gut-wrenchingly awful sounds drifted through the opening, an occasional yell mixed in between.

About three minutes later, Emilon walked in, a grimace of pain across her face.

"There… *phew*..."

She had one hand on her midriff, yellow blood dripping from between her fingers. She tried to smile, but she ended up bowling over from a shock of pain.

"Don't worry, Ericon. I'll be fine… OW!"

I stayed back, wondering what to do. She began to whimper.

"Ericon… please get some cloth out of the closet. Then tighten it around my waist. I'm bleeding a river over here."

So, that was why she had those strips of cloth hanging from makeshift hangers. They were large bandages, pretty much. I walked into her room and pulled a rather large strip off a hanger. I then rushed back and began to tie it around her waist rather tightly.

"Th-thanks… ow…"

I stepped back as she began to straighten up and walk towards me. She had something in her hand, outstretched. When she unclenched her hand, I saw a strange stone. It seemed to shimmer and glow through bright orange to yellow, then back again.

"Pretty cool, huh," she asked with wonder in her voice.

She set it into my hand. The strange stone heated my hands, and I felt stronger somehow.

"Hold still for a sec…"

I looked up. And she wrapped be in a bone-crushing hug.

"AGGHH! WHAT THE FLIP ARE YOU DOING!? GET OFF! I-"

Then she did the unthinkable. She kissed me. On the lips. Hard.

I then did the only thing possible. I tried to break free. But breaking free was next to impossible. Her strength was so great that escape was hopeless. When she finally stopped smooching me, I slipped from under her arms and ran as fast as I could out of that cave. Just as I left, I heard laughter coming from somewhere. I looked around as I sprinted along, and I saw two more Lihzahrd on top of a hill. They were both teens, were 11 to 12 feet tall, and they both held cans of beer. Oh, and one of them had a gun. And he took a shot at me. He missed by a few yards. I tried to run faster. Which failed, because he managed to hit me.

"AAGGGHHH!"

I screamed as I ran into the Jungle, where darkness surrounded me. I felt somewhat safe now. Except for the new hole in my side where the bullet hit. I felt myself getting weaker somehow. Grimacing, I ripped the bullet out of my side. I somehow knew that something was up with it. I glowed purple.

"Venom…"

I staggered against a tree and slid to the ground. I breathed heavily as I began to feel dizzy from the venom.

"Looks like I'm going to die out here. All alone. Thanks a lot, God. You sure make me feel REAL GOOD."

There was a crunching sound. I didn't move a muscle.

Then I heard an all too familiar voice that made me wish I was actually dead at that moment:

"Ericon? Are you out there? I'm sorry… please come back… please?"

Well, if she wanted to find me she would have to look really hard, now wouldn't she?

"THERE YOU ARE, ERI!"

Oh, dear God, please send a meteor my way and hit me in the head with it. NOW.

"Oh, Eri, there you are! I thought you had died."

"You know what, lizard person, I wish I was dead right about now. WHY THE FLIP DID YOU KISS ME!?"

She seemed actually guilty

"I-I'm sorry.I… got a little carried away.I'd never… I mean… I-"

I shook my head.

"That's besides the point. As you can see, I have been shot by a couple of drooling, idiotic teenagers, and am dying from a venomous bullet wound. IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, I WOULD LIKE SOME ANTI-VENOM AND SOME TIME TO HEAL."

She stared at me with a very concerned and also a little bit sad and guilty look in her eyes.

"How did you find me? I mean, it's a huge forest, I could've been anywhere."

She pointed to her nose.

"I could smell you. Us Lihzahrd can smell very faint trails of certain things, like your scent."

GREAT. That meant she could find me anywhere.

"Okay, lizard person. Just to be clear, I absolutely fear and loathe you. I hate you, essentially. So don't get any ideas. Another thing; I intend to make it home ALONE. I have no idea what the flip is going on, but I intend to make it through this life without a psychotic lizard woman that kissed me! JUST GET THE FLIP AWAY! AAGH!"

I staggered over as the bullet would stabbed at my side. I couldn't stand. Red kept flashing in my vision. I fell to one knee and held my side in agony.

"Just stay back. I'll get myself to safety, thank you very much. As long as I can walk, I'll survive. Just stay away. Ow."

I fell onto my face in pain and exhaustion.

"Okay. I could actually use the help right about now, as it seems that I can no longer walk. You're very strong, and with those leg muscles, you could easily lift me."

Emilon frowned. "It wouldn't hurt to say please once in a while. Fine."

When we arrived at the cave, the two teenage knuckleheads were gone. No trace of them on top of the hill that Emilon lived in. We entered the warm, orange-lit cavern, and I was set onto a cot and wrapped in a blanket (which turned out to be another piece of clothing. GROSS!) The leggy lizard person named Emilon walked over to the massive steel cauldron which was hung over a still-burning fire. She grabbed a large steel ladle and scooped out some golden, steaming liquid.

"Here. This'll heal your bullet wound and cure you of your poisoning."

I wrinkled my nose at the smell that washed over me.

"Let me guess. That is a soup of those disgusting heart-shaped fruits, isn't it?"

The lizard woman smiled. "They're called Life Fruits. They are incredibly healthy, but the not-so-ripe and the overly ripe ones are staggeringly sweet. Even I can't stand them. But, when you have no other food source, you kind of have to make do."

She pulled out two large bowls and set one in front of me, and the other on the table that sat across from her cauldron. With a mighty inhaling of air, she blew out the fire. From that, I could tell she was incredibly powerful and was impossibly strong. She could make Chuck Norris nervous. She sighed, and gestured me to sit across from her. I shook my head furiously. I never wanted to be near that girl again. She terrified me. What was happening to my world? It had changed so fast, and I couldn't begin to hope to keep up. If I was to survive, I would need to question her. But that meant getting close to her, which I still refused to do. So, I would have to figure out what was going on myself. I vowed to explore this alien land and to restore the order that had disappeared. I would conquer the world, if need be.