Exiled Villainess Becomes Ruler (Incomplete/ Still Editing)

Short Interlude: The Others (Edited 1/17/24)

Note: This scene takes place the same time Eve and the others are stuck underground. The time is actually up until during the Boss Battle, which hadn't been written yet.

Jon's hands clawed at the sand with a ferocity fueled by desperation at the spot where Eve, the kids, and Storm had been sucked through.

"No! No! This couldn't be happening!" His anguished shouts echoed, each one punctuating the intensity of his actions.

"EVE!" The repeated calls reverberated through the desolate landscape, accompanied by pleas for the others who had vanished into the unforgiving quicksand.

"Jon...be careful..." Zeke's caution went unheeded as he watched his brother kneel on the sand, relentless in his quest to unearth their loved ones.

"They can't be dead! Eve can't be dead!" Jon's hands scraped against the sand, the desperation etched on his face mirroring the turmoil within.

Zeke and Melody, equally shaken, rallied around Jon. They joined the frantic attempt to uncover the five from the relentless grasp of the quicksand, calling out their names in a desperate chorus.

Despite their efforts, the quicksand seemed impenetrable, and each dig yielded nothing but loose granular substance. More sand kept popping up, mocking their futile struggle.

As time passed, Jon lifted his shaking hands towards his face, the sands slipping between his fingers like the elusive hope they sought.

The group, acknowledging the futility of their search, came to a somber halt.

"Jon..." Zeke and Melody called out, their voices laden with shared grief.

Jon stared at his empty hands, seeing nothing but the void left by the ones who disappeared.

Unspoken dread lingered, a collective refusal to accept the worst had happened to Eve and the others.

"I can't believe this!" Melody's cries carried the weight of sorrow, tears streaming down her face. Zeke, too, found solace in wrapping his arms around his girlfriend, their shared pain offering a modicum of comfort.

Jon stood up, his back turned to the endless expanse of sand. "I deeply regret having that argument with her. I also regret not telling her my feelings..."

"Your...feelings?" Melody asked, sensing the depth of Jon's unspoken emotions.

"You were suspecting it right, Melody? When you said that we were having a lover's quarrel."

"Yes..." She answered hesitantly, understanding the unspoken truth.

"You were correct." Jon's admission came through tears, memories flashing in his mind of the times Eve visited their home. Her angelic smiling face lingered as the most prominent feature of his memories.

"I wanted to tell her...that I love her." Jon's confession hung in the air, heavy with the weight of lost opportunities. "But now she is gone."

Melody and Zeke looked at him with genuine concern.

"I'm sorry, Jon," said Melody with compassion.

"I'm sorry too, brother. What do we do now?" Zeke asked, the three now mourning their fallen comrades.

"I don't know." Jon's response held an emotionless numbness. "I guess we have to keep moving forward. We have to go back home."

"How are we going to tell the Becketts and Hendriksons what happened to their kids and Eve?! The whole village would have to know!" Zeke exclaimed in dread.

"Just tell them straight, Zeke," Jon advised, his words carrying the burden of an impending painful truth.

The three wordlessly started to walk away from the sand, heading towards the direction of home. Each step seemed heavier than the last, laden with the weight of loss. They had only taken a few strides when a rumbling sound emanated from beneath their feet.

Then the ground started to shake.

"What was that?!" Melody yelled in fear.

"The ground is shaking!" Zeke shouted, startled by the sudden movement.

"The ground...EVE!" Jon's eyes snapped wide in realization, his heart echoing the seismic tremors beneath his feet.