Unknown
I turn with my sword in hand and a paper in the other. A horn sounds from far away and I see shadows of a flock of birds launch into the air. The sun has set.
"You ready?" I turn and take in the arch of obsidian. Martyn stands before it, his knife and rock held in his hand.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" I say, sheathing my sword and double checking the paper, its edges frayed to time. The arch looks right but, how can we be sure this isn't a waste of time?
"Ha, no." I roll my eyes and nod, folding the paper and stuffing it into my rucksack.
Martyn kneels beside the arch, placing down his items and fixing his bandana. He picks up the knife and rock, positioning them over the obsidian floor of the arch. He strikes once. No spark. I take a step forward as he strikes a second time. The arch glows for a moment before sputtering out.
"Oh come on..." He strikes a third time and suddenly the ground around us is lit his an eerie purple light. The veins of the obsidian fill with an oozing purple-ness and the substance begins to drip out, spiraling towards itself. There is a moment where Martyn stands up and places his knife in its sheath. The flint is gone. The spiral grows tighter and tighter until a purple mass covers the archway.
I approach, my hand held out, gently reaching for the portal. My hand passes through, the nerve endings tickling before my fingertips become quite hot. I pull my hand back and turn to Martyn.
"We did it."
"Heck yeah we did!" Martyn pumps his fist in the air and throws his rucksack over his shoulder.
"Ladies first." He bows and holds out a hand. I slap it away.
"You know it." I answer, pushing my long hair behind my shoulders.
I pick up my foot and step through testing the ground before pulling myself the rest of the way. My vision swims as I stumble out of the other side, collapsing to my knees as I level my vision.
What awaits me is, quite literally, hell.
As much as the songs tell you about hell, they underestimated. It is hot, dry, and covered in things that want to kill you. The rocks are oddly soft and it feels as if I begin to sink every time I take a step. There is an eerie glow about and I approach what looks to be a puddle of liquid fire.
"DON'T TOUCH IT!" I hear Martin shout from behind me. His forehead is already dripping with sweat and I feel my jacket become moist. I shrug it off, leaving me in my tank top, even then it seems like too much. I feel as if we've been thrown into an oven and set to bake.
"I wasn't gonna." I say, fanning my face with my hand.
"Holy hell it is hot here." Martin exclaims, pulling his hair back and re-tying his bandana. I pull my own hair behind my shoulders and tie it with a strap of leather, not the best hold but it'll do.
"Hey Martyn?" I say as we walk, my jacket thrown over my shoulder. Martyn walks a bit in front of me ducking under the oozing leaves of the trees. We entered the forest a little while ago and got immediately attacked by huge hogs, we've been on our toes since but the vine-like leaves make it difficult to make out anything between the oozing trunks.
"Yeah?"
"Who do you think your Soulbound is?" We already know we aren't paired. Martyn got attacked by a zombie when we found the Spawner and I took no damage that wasn't my own. He is a good friend though.
"I don't know. Whomever is left when we get back, I guess." He slashes through another set of vines and stops. I step up next to him and gasp as my foot almost slips on the edge of a cliff. Martyn catches my arm and yanks me back his mouth open and his eyes unmoving. When I look up I can see why.
In front of us sits a lake of molten rock, bright orange and glowing. In the center sits a mighty fortress, crumbling at the edges, lit eerily from below. I look back down over the edge of the cliff to see the thick waves of lava lapping at the shore.
"I think we found it, mate," I say looking back up to Martyn whose mouth is frozen agape with awe and fear. It may be grand, but my Notch is it terrifying.
Scott
"AARGH"
"SCOTT!" My vision blurs as my eyes fill with tears. I can barely see the redhead running towards me, reaching her arms out to envelope me as I collapse. My skin feels as if thousands of tiny ants have burrowed into my shoulder, marching along my chest and leaving pain in their wake. Pulling away from it is pointless, and I writhe in Cleo's arms. She holds my upper body in her lap, her hands holding my head. Tears run down my cheeks as the pain lessens and I take a shaking breath.
"Can I check your shoulder?" Cleo asks, her hand resting on my hair and thumb tracing circles into my scalp. It hurts to breathe, so I nod. She gives me a pitying smile and removes her hand from my head.
As she tears my shirt away from my chest, I notice that the knot on the tree in front of me is turning towards me. My eyes widen. I cannot have my shirt off in front of a camera. I have never, and will never. Tears run down my face and I cry out in pain as I sit up from Cleo's lap and turn, pulling my shirt over my chest. It hurts like hell.
Pearl
"Holy crap." I wince as I apply the salve Martyn had given to me. It had been a few days since we took on the fortress and it was just as scary inside as it looked on the outside. There were these floating heads of fire that shot fireballs from their limbs which weren't even attached to their bodies. We finally made it out of the Nether last night and I barely had enough energy to pitch my tent. The coolness of the forest air and the smell of water were such welcome developments.
Now, Martyn and I walk in comfortable silence, along the paths made by our fellow contestants. They are rough and gravelly, but at least they show us the way. Everyone that we have met, is Soulbound.
We met a couple of men in a cave when we first set out, Ren and Benjamin. They are an adorable couple and kept arguing about the rug that B was weaving. We met a couple, living in a small wooden shack next to a ravine. They were sickeningly sweet. We met Joel and Etho, a couple of guys living in a shipwrecked boat. They were a power couple if I've ever seen one.
They all told us the same thing. Scott and Cleo. They live on the edges of the ravine, on the opposite end from Jimmy and Tango. So here we are, trudging along the gravelly path toward the only two people who are not yet known to be Soulbound. They have to be bound to us.
Grian
"Scar?"
I pull myself through the bamboo, pushing the sturdy stalks aside and squeezing myself through. Scar's figure is just ahead, his hair tousled and his face dirty. He seems to be preoccupied with petting a panda on the head. A huge smile rests on his face.
"Scar." The man turns and his eyes light up.
"Hey, Grian!" He rests his hand on top of the panda's head and uses his free hand to wave at me. "I made friends! I figured since I don't have a soulmate, they can be my soulmates." I can see the slight sadness in his eyes as he turns back to the cluster of pandas, holding out a handful of bamboo leaves for them to eat.
I don't blame him for feeling hopeless. We've been here for almost a month now and he has lived primarily by traveling from one friend's home to another. I only have a small home currently, but... I made it big enough for the two of us. If only he wasn't so stubborn and could see all I was giving him. That's why I came. I heard from Joel that Scar had lost hope and run into the bamboo forest. Scar being unhappy was something that I had never fully thought about, how alone he must feel. I asked him a while ago if he knew who his soulbound was and I think that just made him sadder.
"Look at how cute they are!"
"They are cute. What are their names?" Scar turned back to the panda's as one knawed at his shirt.
"I haven't named them yet, but I found a cat too. Her name is Jellie." It was at this point that I noticed the kitten curled in the pocket of Scar's cargo shorts. I smiled and picked up a stray stick of bamboo from the ground.
"Scar I have to tell you something." I suddenly felt the weight of what I was to say. The air became difficult for my lungs to breathe and my feet seemed cemented into the ground.
"Hm?" He turned towards me, slightly inclining his ear in my direction. It was kind of cute.
"Okay. Look at me, Scar." Scar turned to me, his eyes locking with my own. Those eyes, so happy but so deep. "Alright." I took a deep breath before closing my eyes and hitting Scar with the stick of Bamboo, not too hard, but hard enough to make an impact. I could feel it and wince at the pain. I squeeze my eyes shut as tight as I can.
"Hey Grian look, this panda rolled over!" I open my eyes and see a strange sight. Scar seemed unfazed. He is staring at a panda that has rolled over on its back with its tongue lolled out of its mouth.
"Scar, did you not feel...?"
"Hm?"
"Scar!"
"What?"
"You didn't watch!" Scar turns and locks eyes with me again. My breath feels lighter now, I did it once I can do it again.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm watching now." This time, he turns his entire body towards me, his eyes staring intently at my own. I rub my temples before looking down at the stick in my hand. I take a breath before holding out my hand.
"Give me your hand."
"Oh, okay." He hesitantly places his hand in my own and I raise the stick to his palm.
"Watch." I quickly cut his palm with the sharp edge of the bamboo and he yelps, wrenching his hand back.
"What was that for!"
I smile sadly, holding up my right hand. On my hand, a fresh cut shines, blood dripping down my arm and off my elbow. Scar's mouth drops open as he looks from his hand to mine, back and forth. Back and forth.
"Thi-This whole time..." He looks up at my eyes and I see an emotion that I would have never expected, but I deserve. Anger. "We've been parading around, and you knew this whole time!"
"Yes, but I thought you were joking! I thought there was no way you didn't know so..."
"You told Joel to ask me who my soulmate was." I look down at the ground.
"Yeah."
"And I told him I didn't know and he told you. You've been keeping it a secret from me Grian!" I can't bring myself to look up. I know I've hurt him.
"I can... I can leave." I turn and start to walk away but I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"Thank you for telling me Grian." I see Scar's feet travel around my body and his hand grabs my own. When I look up, he is in front of me.
"I could see that you were sad, and I had no idea you didn't know. I just thought you deserved to be told." A small smile spreads across Scar's face and he looks down at me.
"Can I give you a hug?" I smile slightly before pulling the man into a tight embrace, wrapping my arms around his torso and resting my cheek on his chest. His arms encircle my shoulders and one of his hands gently strokes my hair. I never want him to stop.
"Hey, I made a little house, there's enough room for your stuff if you want to move in." Scar pulls away and looks me in the eye.
"Well as long as I can bring Jellie." I smile and look down at the small cat who has migrated from his shorts to his arms.
"Of course." He smiles and walks over to a tree, picking up his rucksack and grabbing a vine from the floor. As the vine lifts, I see that it is attached to two of the panda's and Scar is pulling them along with him. I shake my head in amusement. "The house is this way Scar."
He turns on his heel and begins to follow me. "I knew that"
Scott
I hammer another plank into place on the frame, stepping back to look at my work. So far today I have finished one wall and begun another, by this rate I will likely finish the walls by the end of the week. It is good to remember my father's carpentry lessons, it almost makes me feel like I am back home, and not here.
"Ahoy!" I spin around, my eyes widening when I spot them. Martyn and Pearl. Cleo and I were talking with Ren and Benjamin earlier and concluded that they were the only others yet to be bound. While the prospect of having a soulbound is interesting, I can't just leave Jimmy. He is the love of my life and I can't imagine being seen with another person. I know that he would say the same. If he could remember.
I give a small wave before making my way around the herb garden and towards the duo. Survival has treated them well. While Martyn looks a bit beat up and tired, Pearl looks ominous, the burns evident on her legs and arms. She looks like she's been through hell. She likely has. No wonder I was in so much pain. They went to the Nether.
"We bring wares!" Martyn speaks again as Cleo approaches from behind me. She rests a gentle hand on my shoulder. The gesture of a good friend.
"What do you bring?" While Cleo steps forward, a few flowers fall from her braided hair. I can see the awe, evident on Martyn's face. He must be in love. Pearl seems to sense it as well and shoves him in the shoulder. His face turns bright red and Pearl grabs the knapsack from his grasp.
"Fuel rods, otherworldly rock, and fungi." I step forward, of course, I'm the only one who knows the proper names.
"You fought a blaze?" I run my fingers along the hot metal rods. Pearl nods and glares, wrapping her hand tighter around the rod, likely afraid that I'll steal it.
"We also heard that you two were unbound?" Martyn blurted. His cheeky grin returned to his face.
"Yeah," Cleo says, stepping up next to me and examining the blaze rod.
"Then I have a proposal," Martyn said, sliding between myself and Pearl, pulling part of my sweater up my arm and showing off the matching burn scars. "Why don't we make a little game? You two stand on one side of the house and Pearl stands on the other. I hit Pearl with a rock and whomever else gets hurt, is soulbound!"
"While that would be great, Martyn," Pearl exclaims, "I, one, would not like to have a rock thrown at my head, and two, already know which one I'm soulbound to." Her gaze flicks over to my own and she grimaces a bit as she sees the look on my face. I am not happy with this arrangement.
"What do you mean, Pearl?" Martyn turned to her, looking at her with what I can only describe as puppy-dog eyes.
"I mean, that Scott is my soulmate." Martyn turns to me and Cleo inches closer. Pearl looks at me, no longer with hope, but with contempt. "And I never want to see his face again."
Martyn and Cleo look very confused as Pearl turns on her heel and storms away into the trees, slinging Martyn's knapsack over her shoulder.
"Uhm..." Martyn says, his face turning redder. "Welp, that's my cue. See you later, beautiful."
He throws Cleo a daisy and her eyes narrow at him. He turns and sprints after Pearl. "Pearl, wait! You have my stuff!"
"What did you do, Scott," Cleo says, before turning on her heel and walking over the rickety bridge and back to her base, not even bothering to say goodbye, we would see each other again shortly anyway.