Zombie Fungus (Hermitcraft AU)

Chapter 10

(Warnings: blood, vomiting, parasitism, death)

(woot)

(3515 words)

Xisuma watched as the Hermits left the island, their faces and behaviors displaying complete dejection. He looked at the pale blue sash he still held and sighed.

How had everything fallen apart so quickly? This server had been created as a place of safety and he had tried to uphold that as much as possible. But in the past week, so many things had gone so horribly wrong, and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it. His job as Admin was to protect the people in his server, but right now he hadn't the faintest clue how to do that.

He heard the soft sound of footsteps on the grass behind him and turned to look. There stood Bdubs, anxiously shifting from foot to foot, looking like he wanted to approach but wasn't sure how to. He looked up in surprise when Xisuma turned.

"I um.. I... wanted to talk to you," he said quietly, looking down at the ground again with tired eyes.

"Of course." Xisuma gestured for Bdubs to sit, and sat down on the ground next to him. "What's going on?"

Bdubs didn't say anything for several seconds, picking at the grass. "I'm just... I'm scared."

Xisuma looked down. "I understand. Is it something in particular that you're scared of?"

"...I think I'm cursed."

"Cursed?" Xisuma hadn't expected that. "What do you mean cursed?"

"It's just that- I feel like history's repeating itself." He took a shuddering breath. "Etho's gone and I don't think that I could bear to lose anyone else."

"Bdubs, I'm so sorry-"

"All these years... it's just been a constant nightmare of what if I lose my home? My family? Only now it seems like it's really happening and I don't know what to do! I could lose everyone all over again, and I can't-" His voice caught in his throat. "I couldn't live with that."

"Bdubs..." Xisuma said softly. "What happened to your homeworld wasn't your fault. It was the wizard." The silence stretched on and Bdubs stared down at his hands. "None of it was your fault. You're allowed to move on."

When Bdubs spoke his voice was small and scared. "I don't know how. I don't know how anyone does. And I'm not the only one who lost everything, I know that! But you've all been able to move past it. To leave this world and live normal lives out there." He hugged his knees to his chest. "And I've been stuck in one day for the past eight years."

"I didn't realise it was still affecting you," the admin admitted. How did I not notice? I should have been paying better attention.

"I didn't want to drag anyone else into it. I just- I kind of hoped it would fix itself."

There wasn't much Xisuma could say to that. But... maybe there was something.

He pulled off his helmet, blinking a few times as he adjusted to the bright sunlight. The world always felt warmer without the visor's purple tint. He set the helmet down on the grass in front of him and looked up. Bdubs still didn't meet his eyes.

"You know... I never wore this before Hermitcraft."

That got Bdubs' attention. He squinted up at the admin in confusion, and Xisuma smiled a little bit.

"When I first arrived, I was terrified. Much like a lot of people were, at the time. I honestly felt like my life was over after losing my homeworld. Like I could never come back from that kind of loss." The admin's smile fell as he spoke. "But I didn't want anyone to know that I was struggling. I didn't want their pity, or their concern, or to throw all of my problems on top of theirs and be a burden. But the strangest of all was that I felt like I had to prove to myself that I was strong enough to get through it on my own.