A Disaster of Fugitives - an MCYT D&D AU fanfiction

20: Scar

'C... Cub?'

'It's ok. You're ok. Everything's ok. S-she hit you and... and you just collapsed and started... started...'

'Cub, it's ok, dude.' Ren's next to him, hands red, one holding a scrap of material. He tried to help me? Was that why I was in pain? There was something about me being hit... My back still hurts.

'What happened?' I murmur. 'How- why am I...'

'True fired an arrow... It must've just hit your back and... Doc threw something at True and it spooked her horse. Martyn drove off the road to get away... I tried to help with the injury but... But...'

'It felt like I was still there.' I almost hear her shouting again. The pain rises up... 'It felt like I was still in that cabin...'

'You're safe now, Scar. You're safe. No one will hurt you. She won't hurt you again.'

'You said that before.' Is all I can think. 'After she took me the first time. And this time.'

'We will do anything to protect you, dude.' Insists Ren. 'Anything.'

'I'm sorry. I trust you. I just...'

'It's ok. You've done nothing wrong.'

'I need to get over this.'

'Scar, seriously. You've done nothing. You have every right to be paranoid.'

'No... No we need to find the egg. I don't want to stop that any more...'

'How far off the path did we go?' Martyn helps bring us back on topic by asking.

'A decent way. Long enough away to get away from...' A glance as me. 'You know who.'

'I'm sorry. I've just put the entire mission in danger because I freaked out.'

'Scar, as your best friend I have permission to tell you to shut up, you've done nothing wrong.' Cub insists again. I continue staring at the ground, fingers fiddling with blades of grass as Martyn continues.

'What we are closer to is that cave Sausage showed us...' He falls silent, expecting opinions.

'That would stop True finding us, dude. And it's a quicker way.'

'There's a dragon.'

'Sausage said it was friendly.' Ren points out.

'Sausage also trusts True. He's not the best judge of character I'd say.' Counters Cub. 'Doc, you've got the most experience with dragons, what do you think?'

'We don't risk it.'

'We could avoid the dragon...'

'We don't risk it. Dragons are dangerous. That dragon is particularly dangerous.'

'It's True or the dragon.' Shoots back Martyn. 'And as much as I want to kill True, I think we have more chance against a dragon.'

'That dragon killed my friend!'

'True hurt Cub and Scar!'

'Enough.' Cub tries to interrupt

'True literally abused Cub, tortured Scar into-'

'I SAID ENOUGH!'

Silence.

'I'm sorry.' Martyn mutters. 'I just wanted Doc to understand.'

'If Doc doesn't want to face the dragon, I say we don't.' Cub replies. 'Even though you... Ren, Martyn... Think it's ok...'

It's then I realise.

The votes are equal.

I'm the one who has to decide.

'I... I don't know what to do.' I admit, standing, looking around. 'I don't want to fight a dragon, but I don't want to meet True ever again...'

'Sausage will have blabbed to True exactly what he told us about where Oli is, where the egg is... She'll be after the egg too. We need to be quick.' Martyn shoots back

'Cub said she's not after the egg. She's after us.' Doc's equally quick to argue

'She's after both. If she was after us she would've killed us before... She wouldn't have accepted Cub's deal to let us go.'

'She would've continued on from the tavern and not attacked Cub!' Doc insists

'She thought Cub knew where it was.'

'Dudes! This isn't important! We need to stop Oli before he reaches the Capital, regardless of wherever... she is. This way is quicker.'

'We don't know how long we'll get trapped by that dragon! It could kill all of us in one jet of fire. I don't want any more of my friends to get killed by that dragon.'

'Scar, it's up to you.' Cub turns everyone's attention to me again. I glance around their expectant faces... I need to prove myself after freaking out. This way should be quicker... but there's a dragon. But I don't want to see True ever again, and if we return to the path...

'Let's face the dragon.'