Gray. Endless stone. The lack of life. Only special places like that can exist on earth. Only special sequences of events can lead to this.
The wary traveler picked his way around large crags and broken rocks, an endless wasteland stretching to the gray skied horizon. Confusion was all there was. He stopped in front of a small stone lying on the ground and just stared at it. What is this place? He stopped to pick it up and then just stared at it in blank contemplation.
A hand on Kayden's shoulder snapped him out of his daydream. "Hey! At least we found this wooden sword just lying on the ground!" Jonny said, admiring the dull, dirty excuse for a weapon in his left hand as he passed, Lich just in front of him, and Gamma taking up the rear. Kayden shook his head as he threw the rock onto the ground. "I left home, green hills, and sunshine, for this?" Anger started to swell up in his belly.
He heard Lich stop in his tracks. "This probably isn't all there is." He said as he turned his head back towards the stragglers. "It has to end…somewhere. We just need to find it…for Farchon."
With a short puff of breath Kayden picked his head back up and followed Lich. Gamma came up next to Kayden and Jonny, brushing arms with Kayden. "He's right! We'll find green hills and sunshine before long!" She said with a smile.
We better. They had been traveling for three hours now, not seeing one block of grass, nor one animal.
Lich spoke again with a lighthearted attitude as he threw his hands behind his head. "I'm not worried." I wish I could be as optimistic as you. Kayden thought with a hint of envy. He quickly shook that feeling off. Lich is just being upbeat for the others, he seems like a pretty good guy. Kaden's glad he decided to join their group.
Jonny started getting too happy with his sword and swung it in front of Kayden's face. Kayden had to lean back to not get his face sliced off. But to be honest, it probably would have just bruised him.
"Jonny! Watch it!"
Jonny's head snapped to Kayden. "Oh, whoops." He said with a small laugh. The others joined in on the laughter which even got a small chuckle out of Kayden himself.
Suddenly, Kayden's stomach grumbled, bringing him back into the gravity of the situation. "We need to find food before it gets too late."
"I was thinking the same thing." Lich added. "We should find some other Farchonians and see if anyone has started a base of operation anywhere."
"Good plan." Jonny agreed with a quick jab to the air. "We should have stuck with some of the others from the ship.", seemingly half interested with the situation and instead just too busy mastering swordsmanship.
"Maybe so." Kayden sighed. "But there has to be a camp somewhere. It has to be pretty close-"
Kayden got cut off by a high-pitched wailing sound in the distance. Everyone froze. Jonny even stopped his swinging.
"What was that?" Gamma asked. No one answered.
It sounded again, followed by human screams, followed by the sound of explosions. It was coming from somewhere up ahead, through some tall cobblestone formations.
"We have to check it out!" Jonny said, whipping around to Kayden, serious. "It sounds like people are in trouble!"
The mood of the group suddenly turned grave. Without another moment's hesitation, Lich bolted forward, bounding over gaps and making his way toward the commotion.
"What in the world is-" Kayden was cut off when Jonny turned away and ran after Lich, leaving him with Gamma.
"Damnit, come on." Was all Gamma said before running after the three. With a curse, Kayden followed in their footsteps, climbing the pile of cobblestone in front of him. On his way up, a shadow passed over him. He glanced up to only catch an object flying above him out of the corner of his vision.
What was that?
"Kayden!" Jonny screamed from the top of the pile. Goosebumps prickled all over his skin as he heard his friends distressed wail. He felt his pupils dilate. He's never heard Jonny yell like that.
Kayden scrambled to the top of the pile. A large expanse of relatively flat, hole riddled stone opened up in front of him. He shoved his way between Lich and Gamma to see what was happening. The high-pitched sound happened again. Kayden tracked the sound to its source. His breath caught in his throat.
"W-What…" he couldn't formulate a sentence. About two hundred blocks out, two dozen or so people were scattering like bugs evading a predator. Some were already dead. The predator: A huge black mass flew around over the terrified people, shooting what looked like bombs at them. They stood no chance. The bombs flew through the air at an astonishing speed and with pinpoint accuracy, striking person after person, leaving their bodies in pieces, strewn over the uneven, hard ground. The thing flew from person to person, screeching and wailing like a machine.
A lump formed in Kayden's throat. Lich took a step back from the ledge leading down to the flat. Gamma covered her mouth, unblinking as tears trailed down her face. Jonny stood at the ledge, gripping his sword so tightly, he might break it. Anger stretched across his face.
"Who brought that thing here?" He asked with rage in the back of his voice.
"We need to go, NOW!" Lich yelled as he gripped Gamma's wrist and started backing up, back down the pile. "They're goners. There's nothing we can do. It's hard but we must go."
Kayden ducked as a rogue bomb flew right over their heads. He picked his head back up. "Go!" He yelled to the others as he started retreating.
"Jonny!" Kayden turned around to make sure his friend was in tow only to see him drop down the ledge, straight for the monster. "Jonny!" He screamed as he scrambled back up the pile. How could he do this?! He'll get killed! Jonny leaped from stone to stone as he sprinted toward the monster with his wooden sword, never breaking stride. "That idiot!" He and Lich yelled simultaneously.
Kayden started to push himself up to go after Jonny. But couldn't. What's wrong with me? Don't I want to save him?
Without warning, dust and wind buffered his right side as someone rushed past him. Jonny looked up, shocked. Lich bounded down the ledge, going after Jonny, leaving Kayden speechless. He watched as the two ran straight toward the conflict. Already, Lich was gaining on Jonny
What he saw made his stomach drop. The monster turned toward Jonny.
No…
With all the willpower he had, Kayden stood up and ran after them. He slid down the rocky ledge, nearly falling over but he regained balance and sprinted on, leaving Gamma behind. He looked ahead. Lich had nearly caught up to Jonny who was only about a hundred blocks away, but the monster was making his way straight for Jonny. A few remaining survivors were passing him on his way, yelling in fear. Only a few remained. Some made it to the margins and probably escaped.
This is not good.
"Jonny, get out of there!" Kayden yelled at the top of his lungs. Jonny is going to get hurt. Images of the devastated bodies flew through his mind. Fear for his friends pulsed through his veins. Lich needs to stop him.
For a split second, Kayden saw something, rather, someone out of the corner of his vision, sitting in the shadows under a ledge on the side of the expanse. Is that…diamond armor? Then the figure moved and was gone. It happened so quickly, it could have been Kayden's imagination. He shook it off and refocused.
Kayden suddenly slipped on something slippery and fell straight onto his back with a loud "oof". He looked down to see himself in a puddle of blood, with a body strewn over the block next to him, flesh hanging off its face. Kayden scrambled to his feet, horrified and shocked. His adrenaline was the only thing keeping him from not being able to stand.
His head whipped back to his friends. The monster shot a black bomb straight at Jonny. Despair hit Kayden's heart. "Why, Jonny? Why?"
Lich came out of nowhere and pushed Jonny to the side. Hope flared in Kayden's heart for a second. But only a second. Lich got hit directly with the bomb, exploding in a cloud of fireless smoke. "Lich!"
The monster seemed to lose interest and turned around to go after another straggler. Kayden pushed himself up and ran for Lich and Jonny, dread tearing at him. As he approached, all he could see was Jonny kneeling next to Lich, crying.
Kayden stopped in his tracks. Lich's whole left side was blown off, blood was gushing out. The rest of his body was covered in gray ash.
Jonny shot his insane glare at Kayden. "Help me drag him into this cave!" It was then he realized that Lich was still alive, he was completely conscious, looking around like nothing had happened. He was in shock.
What a horrible scene but…how is he still alive?
"Help me!" Jonny sobbed as he tried lifting Lich's body on his own, failing in getting a grip on him.
Kayden rushed into the crater created by the explosion, and carefully scooped his hands under Lich's remaining shoulder, not mining the pool of blood that he was sitting in. Jonny gripped his leg and put an arm under his butt and the two hoisted their friend of only a few hours, up. He was too light for a fully-grown man…that's what losing half your body will do. Tears started welling up in Kayden's eyes as they retreated down a cave in the hole ridden ground. After getting deep enough as to not see outside anymore, the two gently placed their dying friend down on the ground.
Lich's remaining good eye wandered over to Jonny.
"I'm so sorry!" Kayden yelled as he shoved his face into Lich's shirt. "It should have been me! You weren't supposed to jump in! I didn't ask for it! Why!"
While looking at Lich's expressionless face, Kayden noticed something. It wasn't ash covering his face, the dust was his flesh literally…flaking away. What was that thing?
Jonny's cries didn't let up. "Lich, I am so, so sorry. This isn't fair. Not fair, not fair!" Kayden didn't know what to say. Lich was just lying here, completely thrown aside like a piece of trash for Wednesday pick-up. This isn't what a human being should look like. Kayden didn't know how he was still alive.
"I-I can save you!" Jonny choked. He ripped off his own t-shirt and pushed it against Lich's armless shoulder, attempting to stop the bleeding, Lich just stared at him, mouth covered in blood. It was no use; the shirt was only covering a small part of Lich's body that was losing blood. Jonny's attempt was pitiful and sad. Jonny shook as he looked down, unable to form words, nearly completely covered in Lich's blood.
That's when Kayden's real tears came. Lich just laid there, bleeding and flaking away, staring at Jonny with uninterested eyes.
The sound of Gamma's wet gasp sounded at the entrance of the tunnel, the sound of the monster, still screeching in the distance. Gamma kneeled slowly next to Jonny as he gripped Lich, head down.
"I'm sorry." Jonny said one more time. The three sat there with Lich. Maybe because they just didn't know what to do, maybe just trying to accompany him in his final moments, the guy who they've only known for a couple of hours.
"Jonny." A weak voice said. The three shot their heads up to see Lich with his mouth open. Jonny's breath wavered as he choked back a sob. Blood welled at the corner of Lich's mouth as he spoke. "It's not your fault." Jonny sat, wide-eyed, taking in his words. "I chose to push you out of the way. That was my choice-" He spat up blood from deep in his throat, straight into the air, splattering all over him and the others. His face scrunched up as he struggled to hold onto consciousness. Kayden laid a hand on his shoulder.
After a few heavy breaths, he spoke again. "Don't live your life thinking this was on you. Never stop caring for others, never stop trying to protect them. Next time, just have more than a wood sword." Jonny nodded his head, trying to hold back tears.
Lich's gaze slowly drifted over to Gamma. "You remind me of my mother, Gamma. I've only known you for a short while, but I can tell you are protective and caring. There is a strength in you, you don't even know you have yet. Don't let othesr treat you as the fragile woman who can't care for herself."
"I won't." Gamma whispered, unable to take her eyes off Lich.
Finally, he looked straight up at Kayden. He could hardly hold back the tears. "I wish I could have spent more time with you. I thought we could have grown to be really good friends, but I guess that will never happen. Don't be so depressed all the time, be hopeful. For these two."
He took a short pause and coughed again. His remaining eyelid had completely disintegrated and was compiling in a pile on the side of his nose. "Also, Gamma really likes you. I could tell that right away. You should be nicer to her, she just wants you to notice her." He fell silent.
"We can-" "Go." Lich interrupted Kayden. "The monster is away for the moment. Now is your time to escape." Kayden just stared at him, scared. He spoke again, weaker than before. "It's okay. I can't feel any pain, I am going to die. Just leave me here. I need to make my peace."
Kayden didn't know what to say but deep down, he knew Lich was right. Kayden stood up and put a hand on Jonny's shoulder. "We should go. He needs this time alone." After a long moment, Jonny stood up, turned, and walked towards the entrance.
Gamma stood up and said one final thing to Lich. "I hope you make your peace." Then went the same way Jonny went.
Kayden looked down at Lich one last time. Lich stared right back. Kayden opened his mouth, but shut it once he realized there was nothing he could say, then made his way up the tunnel, leaving Lich to die in peace.
The three escaped from the tunnel, keeping the monster in their peripheral. Their escape was hazy and Kayden didn't really remember much as they tore across the landscape, escaping from the flat. Massive lavacasts loomed all around them, the setting sun casting wide shadows over the dead landscape.
The trio climbed the ledge on the other side of the flat, still hearing the screams of people in the far distance, the monster now out of sight. Kayden took one quick glance over his shoulder back in the distance at the cave they left Lich in. He stopped and stared. A diamond-clad person stood at the entrance of the cave before dropping down into it.
Kayden balled his fists in anger. You better not do anything to Lich. Leave him alone!
"He's probably gone already." Gamma said in a sad tone. "Let's just get going."
Kayden closed his eyes and put his head down, quelling his anger. Why was he so upset about the death of a person they just met? Why were they all so upset? Why did he consider him his friend? What does it mean to be a friend? Was that word, friend, just something he threw around to anyone who showed him kindness? Does that word have no value to it?
Kayden dropped to the ground and slammed his fist on the cold stone.
"Gamma is right." Jonny said, dejected as he faced away from them and the direction they came from. "We just need to get out of here." No emotion was in his voice. Then Jonny just started walking in the direction of a massive tower of cobblestone covered in withering vines. There was nothing left to say so Kayden just stood up and put his arm around Gamma and walked after Jonny.
It was nearly dark before the sounds of the monster faded into the distance. The group was moving very slowly. Their spirits were low and the terrain didn't help. They hadn't spoken a single word since they left the flat.
Kayden heard Gamma's stomach growl. He knew they were all getting really hungry at this point. Kayden would have brought food of his own but the Farchonian state enforced the rule that as many people be jammed onto each ship as possible, no extra equipment or food allowed. Stupid.
"There has to be a camp somewhere. Or even just other Farchonians." Jonny said from the lead, breaking the hours of silence. He stopped atop a large boulder, creating a silhouette against the half set sun which was still lingering behind overcast skies. Distant lavacasts and towers, kilometers away created a bar graph like effect on the life giving ball of fire.
Kayden stared up at Jonny, a deep orange light being thrown onto his face, dull enough to not have to squint. "We won't survive the night if we stay out here." Jonny paused before continuing. "It would be impossible."
"Then you've stumbled upon the right place." A strange voice said next to them. All three of the weary travelers jumped and looked to the left in fear of unknown danger. Kayden threw himself into a defensive position, ready if anybody jumped out of them.
To their left was another large stone boulder and atop it was a figure in iron armor with his hands on his hips. A sword hung from his hip. His features couldn't be discerned in the oncoming darkness.
"Who are you?!" Jonny yelled up to him. The man swept his open palm down in a welcoming gesture and laughed. "Why I am Chigo of the Nation of Farchon. Come with me for comradery and meager rations." He laughed again, a good jolly laugh. It was almost welcoming.
"Farchon." Jonny whispered as he glanced over to Gamma and Kayden.
The man named Chigo threw his hands up in front of himself. "Bah, pardon me and my rudeness, I do not mean to be so imposing." He then jumped down from the top of the boulder and slid down its side, falling eight blocks to stand next to them. "That's mighty better, now if you don't mind, we are easily spotted on the surface after dark so if you would kindly follow me." Then waved the trio over in his direction, left of the direction they were heading. "Camp is four-hundred blocks away. I was about to turn back for the night but lucky for you I decided to stay out an extra five minutes. Nearly missed you." He said with a smile.
"You're a Farchonian?" Gamma asked, still slightly skeptical of this stranger.
He threw his hands up into the air. "Of course, dear!"
Now that he was closer, Kayden could see that he was probably in his forty's and was a slightly chunky man. He didn't give off much of a hostile aura.
"You said you had a camp?" Jonny asked, wanting to confirm what he just heard.
"Yes. With about fifteen people there currently. Now there is not much time to explain now, I will tell you everything you want to know once we reach camp. Plus, there is a wither in the area."
"We should go." Kayden interjected. For some reason he felt he could trust this man. "This is what we were looking for." Jonny gave a slight nod of approval.
"I agree." Gamma said.
"I did not think you would do anything different!" Chigo said with a wide smile as he turned and started making his way back around the boulder he was just on. The others stood there for a moment, as if not sure exactly what to do.
Chigo looked over his iron-clad shoulder with a smile upon his jolly, light skinned face "Come on, kids, you want to get out of spawn, do you not?"