MCSM: A World Unwound [OLD]

~Chapter Six~

Aranna turned to Star. "We gotta go! Just jump!"

The ground shuddered again. More debris came crashing down. "STAR, COME ON!" Aranna cried. She turned away and jumped, pushing off with just enough force to take her to the other side. The other two girls helped her up, but then she, Kendall, and Rush had to watch helplessly as Star backed up, ran forward...and jumped too late.

"NO!" Rush screamed. Aranna and Kendall had to restrain the taller girl as she tried to leap back over to help her falling friend. Star plummeted into one of the smaller canyons, unable to do anything but surrender to gravity. They couldn't see whether or not she had hit the void, but they knew she was gone.

Rush was in hysterics. She was no longer trying to get back to the other side, but she sank down to the ground, muttering incoherently. Her green eyes were incredibly wide, and tears were streaked across her face. Kendall bent down next to her. "Rush? Are you okay? We gotta keep moving."

"No! We have to go back! We have to save her!!" Rush cried. Aranna shook her head. "She's already lost. We've gotta get out of here, or we're next."

"No, no we can't. She...I...there...we can't be losing people already."

Kendall took her hand and pulled her up. "So let's not lose anyone else. We need to go." "We'll get to safety, then come back and find the others when it's a little less treacherous." Aranna added.

Rush begrudgingly stood up, and the three of them hurried away from the danger.

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Jasmine, Logan, and Aiden were having a few more problems. They were cut off from the route that Kendall, Aranna, and Rush had taken, and were desperately scrambling for an escape. The trio thought they had found a clear route, but were greeted by another collapsing building.

Logan tried to dodge the falling debris and tripped, landing roughly on his right arm. He stumbled to his feet, hissing in pain. The arm that he had landed on was bent at an unnatural angle.

"Are you okay?" Jasmine asked, wide-eyed. Logan shook his head, still wincing from the stabbing agony. "I think my arm's broken."

"Maybe we-"

"ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?!" Aiden bellowed from ahead of them. The two hurried to catch up.

The group ran for a while, dodging debris and avoiding the crevice as best they could. This was proving to be nearly impossible, because the already-massive-fissure was still growing.

"I...officially...hate...this." Logan huffed, failing to talk and run at the same time.

"Same...he-EEEEEEEEEEEE!" Jasmine's words were cut off by a shriek as the ground split right in front of her. She skidded to a stop, but her momentum was too great. She gripped the edge of the crevice, holding on with all her might.

The ground shuddered again, almost dislodging her grasp and making her shriek in pure panic.

Aiden was there in an instant. He grabbed ahold of her arms and pulled her up. She kicked against the side of the crevice, trying to get a foothold. Between both of their efforts, Jasmine eventually got her feet on solid ground. They were both out of breath from the rescue, but the trio had no choice but to keep moving.

They ran until they had left the town far behind them, until their energy ran out.

Aiden collapsed against a tree, wheezing. "I hate...that stupid...crevice. That thing...it's even worse than the Witherstorm. Because...with the Witherstorm...we could at least try to avoid it! It hadn't been everywhere at once!"