Based on the new Life Series called Secret Life :)
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His hands gripped tighter to the thin piece of paper he held, his limbs shaking with unease. His eyes looked scared, displeased at what the note read. Mumbo looked up at the Secret Keeper statue, staring at the strange pattern made of cobblestone on the hillside.
"I-I can't." He almost spoke in a whisper, as if to himself, shaking his head as he muttered under his breath in disbelief. "I won't do it."
He crumpled the paper into a ball before stuffing it into his pocket, a feeling of uneasy sickness filling the pit of his stomach. He wanted to hurl. To gasp and hyperventilate. It felt like something was wrong.
The way his secret had been written...it felt cold and commanding, not at all friendly or inviting, like it was an order from a leader or an authority. The words sounded so authoritative and strong, it made him sick inside. Mumbo bit his lower lip hard, trying to control his breathing. But the anxiety still filled his body, making him feel nauseous.
Mumbo swallowed thickly, trying to put on a smile as he hid the sense of dread that was beginning to build in his gut. He approached the group of players, most of them were reading their secrets or just talking in the circle. Grian noticed the taller man and waved him over, inviting him into the conversation.
"Hey Mumbo!" He greeted with a happy smile, "What was your task?"
"Hehe, you know I can't tell you..." Said the redstoner in a rather dry tone, his laugh seemingly forced as he avoided locking eyes with Grian.
"Something wrong?" Cleo spoke up, noticing his discomfort. Mumbo quickly pulled himself from his own thoughts as he shook his head, forcing a grin onto his face that seemed more fake than genuine.
"O-oh no! I'm completely fine, no need to worry." He laughed again, waving his hand as if to dismiss the problem. "Just...have a hard task. That's all.."
"Shh! Don't want anyone to find out your secret!" Scar giggled as he playfully nudged the mustached Brit in the ribs. Mumbo flinched, though laughed weakly and nodded.
"I better get to work on it." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck as he pushed through the group to head home.
Mumbo walked to his base with his hands on his pockets, eyes glued to the grassy terrain below his feet. He felt like he was sweating bullets, like there was a piece of lead in the bottom of his stomach.
When he got inside, Mumbo twisted the lock on his door, ensuring his privacy as he drew the curtains shut. He let out a shuddering breath as he collapsed onto the mattress, curling up in bed, with his knees pulled to his chest.
This was just a game, right? It was meant to be, at least. Though this challenge left a sour taste in the redstoner's mouth. Maybe he should just fail, ignore it completely. No reward was worth this. No amount of hearts was worth this.
He pulled the piece of paper from his pocket, unfolding it carefully to stare at the words. It felt like he was holding back tears. It just felt wrong. So very, very wrong. The weight of his secret fell heavily on his shoulders, weighing him down.
There was a knock at the door, though at first, Mumbo barely heard it. So lost in thought he couldn't register the sound around him. Though the banging didn't stop, eventually it sounded like someone was pounding against the door with a baseball bat. That managed to bring Mumbo back to the present, causing him to leap out of bed to answer the door.
"Hey." Grian hummed, hands in his pockets as he stared up at the taller man. "Wanna go for a walk?"
Mumbo stared at him for a moment, poking his head outside to glance around. "It's night," he pointed out. "I don't think it's the best idea...If we run into a skeleton."
"We won't!" Grian laughed and assured him. "Trust me, okay? I have something really cool to show you."
Nervous, Mumbo reluctantly nodded. "Okay." He said while looking to the ground. "I-is it somewhere private? I need to talk to you about something anyways."
"Yep! Super secret!" The shorter man said with a wink, pulling Mumbo from his doorway and leading him out of the house.
The walk to the Secret Keeper statue wasn't long, it was in the line of sight from Mumbo's house. It glowed eerily in the torchlight, a sense of doom filling the back of the redstoner's mind as they approached.
Grian walked to the statue, stepping closer to the cave that led to who knows where. He waved Mumbo over, heading into the tunnels underneath the hill. The taller man had to duck down to avoid hitting his head, though he followed Grian down through the passage, which seemed to spiral deeper and deeper underground.
"I didn't notice this." Mumbo said quietly, speaking mostly to himself.
"It's hard to see if you aren't looking." Grian responded, his voice quiet as he dragged a hand agaisnt the stone wall. Mumbo swallowed roughly, shivering in the cold of the tunnel.
"M-maybe we should head back—"
"Nono." Grian shook his head, his back facing the redstoner. "We're already here."
He pushed open a rusty iron door, a low creak echoing off the walls of a stone room. Mumbo stepped inside as Grian held open the door, his brow furrowing as he squinted his eyes. "What..." He muttered, dragging a hand on the symbol on the wall.
The door behind him shut with a loud clang, Mumbo feeling his heart leap in shock at the sound. He whirled around, Grian standing by the door. The shadows of the room covered him, making him more of a figure that Mumbo couldn't see that clearly.
He took a step back, though he froze as the sound of a crack came from underneath his foot. Mumbo looked down, noticing dry stains of blood and a pile of bones underneath his feet. He slowly looked back up at Grian, his eyes wide.
"What is this place..?" He asked in a whisper.
"Nowhere that you need to know." Grian said, pulling out an iron dagger from behind his back. He stepped forward, and Mumbo stepped back, cornered agaisnt the wall.
"Wha—, w-what are you doing?!"
"You already know." Grian calmly spoke, his eyes stuck to the dagger as he dragged the tip of his finger along the blade. "After all, you got the same task as me, didn't you?"
Mumbo flinched at the mention of his task. "I-I didn't—!"
"It didn't have to be this way. You just couldn't listen. They don't like that, you know."
"T-they?! Gr-Grian, please, I—"
"Shh.." He pressed his body against Mumbo's, holding the blade to the taller man's neck as a sickening Grian pulled at the edges of his lips. "It's supposed to be a secret."
He plunged the dagger through Mumbo's stomach, piercing his lungs before slicing his skin to shreds. Blood spurted out of the wound, soaking the two of them as Grian laughed and danced in a puddle of blood. His eyes shone bright and his laughter rang through the cavern, ringing through Mumbo's ears.
Mumbo collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain as he gripped his bleeding wound. His vision was fuzzy as his breathing was ragged, trying to keep conscious despite his rapidly beating heart. Grian bent down, dipping his fingers in the puddle of blood that was leaking out of Mumbo's fresh wound.
"They gave you a chance, you know." He said, dragging the blood against the wall. "They really liked you. They wanted you to join. But you need to be ruthless...And, well.."
Grian chuckled to himself a little, smiling as he continued to draw in blood. "You just don't have it in you."
Mumbo looked up, his vision blurred from the tears rolling down his face. Grian had drawn some kind of symbol, the same one that was on the Secret Keeper statue. He walked over to Mumbo's collapsed body, kneeling in the blood.
He drew the same symbol atop Mumbo's forehead before reaching into the dying man's pocket, pulling out the crumpled piece of paper. "Preform a blood sacrifice." Grian read aloud, smiling with a lack of remorse in his eyes.
Walking back over to the symbol on the wall, Grian placed the paper onto the ground. He pulled out a flint and steel, striking the two together a few times before eventually, the task caught fire. He took a step back, watching with a wide grin as Mumbo's blood began to shift in hue, glowing as it turned purple.
Mumbo weakly grabbed Grian's ankle, groaning in pain as he pulled himself forward. "P-please—" He gasped out, begging for help as blood completely stained his suit.
"It'll be okay." Grian smiled, "The Watchers always have mercy on their sacrifices."