MCSM Stories

Trek (2)

Jesse woke up to pain.

He couldn't feel anything but the pain. His head was pounding, his whole body stung, and he couldn't feel his arms. He tried to open his eyes. He was met with white, so bright that he had to close his eyes again. Was he somewhere else again...? Jesse tried to sit up, but he felt a sharp pain in his spine immediately. He fell back, shuddering. He curled up on the ground. He felt horrible. He lay there for what felt like forever. He waited for all of the pain to subdue, if it would at all. But what surprised him most was that he was still alive. The pain before he lost consciousness was so horrible that he was sure he was dying. At the very least, the pounding in Jesse's head stopped eventually.

He opened his eyes again. He saw a grey open sky, the clouds that blanketed over the land darkened, threatening to rain at any moment. That's weird, Jesse thought. Wasn't he just in a building...? Jesse tried to sit up again. It was incredibly difficult, with his back still aching and not having arms.

Wait.

Where are his arms!?

Jesse couldn't feel them. He tried to bring them up to his face, but he saw nothing. Panic rushed through him. What happened to his arms? Did Soren rip them off? What... Happened? Jesse could feel his heart race. His arms were gone. That's why they were hurting so much. They were being torn off. He wouldn't be able to do anything now. He felt his throat contract, blinking back tears, and he failed to suppress a shudder. He mentally scolded himself. He shouldn't be crying about it. He could get through it. He could-

Jesse shifted his gaze to the rest of his body, and he felt as if his heart skipped a beat.

He was no longer wearing his armor. Instead, it was replaced with cloth in the same colors. And his legs. They didn't even look like legs anymore. They were long, dark and skinny, and didn't even have any feet. He tried to let out a scream, but nothing came out. Jesse tried to stand, but the "legs" caused him to stumble a few feet, trying his best to keep his balance, only to collapse on the ground. His eyes moved to a mirror a short distance away, broken off of its stand and on the ground. He moved towards it, slowly, trying to keep his balance, even though he was on his "knees". As soon as he was hunched over the shattered surface, he looked down.

He wasn't met with his own face. Replacing it was a mask, similar to the creature that Soren had, only the "eyes" were squinted, making it look impossible to see through. On top of his head were ears, or what looked like ears, made of cloth the same color as his hair. His body was tall and slender, and, of course, without arms. His whole body was covered in cloth- not dark like the other creature's, but had the same colors as his armor, the Redstone Riot. There was no way anybody would be able to recognize him.

He wasn't human anymore.

He was a monster.

Jesse felt tears threaten to escape his eyes again, and this time he couldn't hold them back. He choked out a soundless sob, scrambling away from the mirror. He was a monster. Soren had turned him into something. He wouldn't be able to function as a person anymore. Jesse sat there, staring at the ground, watching the tears hit the floor and eventually freeze. He saw some snowflakes drift slowly to the ground in front of him, and he looked up. It was snowing. The roof of wherever this place was had collapsed, allowing snow to come in and cover the ruins as it pleased.

What Soren had said scared him. What "cause" was he planning? Why had he been set on getting Jesse? Was he jealous? And who the heck was Gabe!? Jesse shivered a little, remembering the ginger's words before he became... this. Soren had wanted Jesse as a pet. A slave. Shuddering slightly, he glanced around. Soren and "Gabe" were nowhere in sight. They probably ran from the explosion, Jesse thought. But they could come back and catch him. And torture him. And-

Jesse shook his head, trying to subside the thoughts. He still needed to get out of here. Somehow. Cautiously, Jesse got from a sitting position into a kneeling position. He could feel his legs shake. Slowly, he ascended to a standing position. Jesse stumbled slightly, but he managed to stay upright. He looked around, and only now did he realize how tall he was. A crystal that was in the hole, though cracked and ruined, was still intact. It was larger than him when he was human, but now he was easily bigger than it.

Jesse took a step forward. He felt as if he was about to fall again, but he kept his balance. He took a few more steps forward, and soon he was walking, albeit slowly. He heard something drag behind him, and, muscles tensing, he turned sharply. Still there was nothing there but him. Jesse looked down. It was a drape of fabric, cream-colored, fading into red with light blue embodiment. It looked like a scarf- a very long, large scarf. Jesse let out a small sigh. It was coming from him. He turned again and started to walk again, faster. He turned past chunks of the building, now blanketed with newly fallen snow, weathered, torn down walls that looked like they had been there for centuries, and old pillars, half- buried in the snow. As soon as he got past the outskirts of the remnants of the building, he was met with tall spruce trees, their needles white with frost and snow. Jesse was now in a forest.

He glanced around. There was no sign of anybody in sight, let alone a sign that there was civilization here. It was as if he was the only pers- living thing left in the world. Still, Jesse continued to walk. Still, even as minutes seemed to turn into hours, Jesse still wasn't cold. Sure, his feet, or what were supposed to be his feet, were cold from the snow, but he still wasn't freezing. It almost felt surreal to Jesse.

His surroundings slowly got darker and darker as it drew closer to night. Jesse knew that he had to find some sort of shelter soon. He couldn't make one himself, because...

Jesse cut off his own thought. He glanced around quickly before continuing to walk. After a few moments, something dark caught his eye. He ran over to it, nearly tripping in the snow. He stopped, standing above it. A cave- Just what he needed. It was hidden partially with ferns, so that nobody, not even a monster, would be able to see it unless they were very close.

Jesse carefully stepped into the cave. It was shallow, so that no monster would be able to spawn inside of it. The floor was icy, and Jesse slipped and fell within a few steps. It would have to do. If he looked for another shelter now, it would be too dark if he found one and mobs would be spawning.

Jesse scooted to the very back of the cave and curled up there. Fortunately, there were no sharp rocks or edges. He breathed out, closing his eyes. He sat there, breathing semi-heavily. Hopefully, he wouldn't freeze in his sleep.

If he got up in the morning. The first thing he would do is find his friends. He needed to get to them, and, if he could, he had to warn them of what Soren was planning. Whatever Soren was up to, it couldn't be good.