Ugh, sorry for not updating when I was supposed to. I don't have an excuse for last week, but the week before was pretty shitty for me. I ALMOST managed to update on Thursday, but then Wattpad started being a pain in the butt, and it crashed every time I tried to make a draft of AWU.
But this will be easier for me now because I'm back on track with the whole updating-on-Tuesday thing, so yay.
SO NOW LET'S CHECK IN WITH SOME OF THE SMOL BEANS WHO HAVE BEEN FORGOTTEN FOR SEVERAL CHAPTERS
Jk, I haven't forgotten them. I just wasn't writing what happened to them.
BUT I'M DOING THAT NOW SO YAY
SO
YAY
rush wtf are you even doing anymore ya nutcase
Quick note: The comma key on my keyboard gets stuck sometimes, so occasionally there might not be a comma where there should be one. It's not pleasant, because even me with my over-analyzing skills misses a lot of mistakes.
So as usual, I had no time to edit it and there a million mistakes.
I'M SORRY.
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The world was collapsing at an insanely rapid rate. For every few feet that you walked, you would have to hop over a small line of the crevice. Most of the world now appeared to be giant landmasses floating above the endless space of the void.
And every few minutes, another earthquake would shake the ground, sending more blocks crashing to their doom into the void. Nowhere would be safe forever, and one wrong step could end your life instantaneously.
Wolfe, Megan, Olivia, Athena, Marilan, and Star were on their way to the Fallen Castle, with Cindy and Lila leading the way. They were all subdued and apprehensive, nervously glancing at the nearest patches of crevice.
Lila seemed to be the jumpiest of all of them, twitching nervously and looking every which way with a paranoid expression. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Athena spoke to her.
"What's up? You seem pretty anxious."
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just scared out of my freaking mind." Lila replied, slightly hysterical.
Olivia frowned at her. "You didn't have to be part of this."
"Yes we do. The world's in danger, and we have important knowledge. That means we're automatically supposed to help with stuff." Lila told her immediately.
"Couldn't have said it any better myself." Cindy said sarcastically. "Can't say I disagree with you, though."
Lila lifted her head smugly, but her haughty expression soon wilted. "This is all just happening so fast, you know?"
"Yeah. When we found out that the Order needed our help, this is not what I had in mind." Wolfe admitted.
"Right. I figured it would be dangerous, but I never expected anything like this. It's like we were randomly pushed into hardcore mode or something like that." Megan commented.
Olivia sighed. "I hope we can find the others soon. Any of them. I've never really been on an adventure like this on my own."
"Same here." Marilan added quietly. "Aiden, Gill, Maya, and I, well, we're a team. We don't do half as well by ourselves. I sure hope they're all okay. Each of them seem to have a signature way of getting into trouble, and I'm sure they would say the same about me." The blue-eyed girl finished with a slight smile.
"I've been meaning to ask...why are you friends with them, anyway? They don't exactly seem like your type of crowd." Wolfe asked. All attention was diverted to Marilan, who ducked her head slightly.
"Well, y'know, it's a long story. I met them during the whole Witherstorm fiasco, and we stuck together throughout that whole thing. That's part of the reason why Aiden and Maya hate you guys so much. We could've stopped the Storm. We were so close." Marilan said to Olivia. "But you and the rest of the New Order, you got there first. They had a reason for being so mad at you."
"Huh. I never really thought about that." Star murmured. Olivia frowned, trying to recall what Jesse had told her about the Sky City adventure. "But why weren't you with them when-"
"When they were being all vengeful and evilish? We...kinda had a fight. A really big, angry fight. It wasn't pretty. I didn't want anything to do with their mad quest for revenge, and I made that very clear. In the end, I just flat-out left. It was one of the dumbest things I've ever done, and that's saying a lot. If I hadn't left them behind in a fit of rage, all sorts of terrible crap could've been prevented." Marilan grumbled, obviously still rather torn up over the whole thing.
"It seemed like you were still pretty close with them. What happened after that?" Star asked.
Marilan shrugged. "I eventually figured out what a dumbass I had been and decided to find them. It took a while, but I managed to track them down, so happy endings all around. Until this happened, of course."
"Okay, I get that. They still don't seem very similar to you, though." Wolfe told her. Marilan gave her a long stare, a faraway look clouding her eyes. "You don't know me. And you don't know them. Judging by reputations can only take you so far."
Wolfe went silent, unsure of how to argue with that.
"So do we have a backup plan? What do we do if this 'Fallen Castle' has already been destroyed? What if there's nothing in it at all?" Athena asked.
"There is. Something's in that castle. We've never been able to find it, but maybe you guys with your Author powers can." Cindy told her firmly.
"And what about finding our friends? Anyone got ideas for that?" Athena continued.
"Cross our fingers and hope?" Star suggested with a small smile. The dark-haired girl sent her a 'really?' look.
"Speaking of friends, isn't this near where Aisho lives?" Lila asked Cindy. The shorter girl examined their surroundings with a critical look, then nodded. "Right, she's in those mountains up ahead."
"Aisho...?" Olivia asked.
"Yeah, she's our friend who lives around here. I wonder if she's doing alright." Lila mused. Cindy shrugged. "We'll pass pretty close to her house on our way to the castle, so we could stop and see if she's there. Maybe she'd like to come with us! She's always loved adventures."
"One problem." Marilan interjected. They all looked over at the oldest girl.
"Take a good look at those mountains. When the crevice hits, they're all coming down immediately. Anyone stuck up there is deader than an Enderman in a rainstorm. And look at how close the main crevice is. Going that way is practically asking to get killed."
"Yeah, but going around will take too much time. And we want to find Aisho." Cindy reasoned. Marilan sighed. "You know we don't have time for risks like this."
"And we also don't have time for detours." Olivia pointed out. They were at a stalemate.
"We may as well go through the mountains. The going around might save us the risk, but it'll be the same amount of danger if we stand here arguing." Star said.
"And besides, we know our way through the mountains." Lila assured her. Marilan sighed yet again. She knew she was outnumbered. "Fine, fine, let's go."
Cindy and Lila high-fived, and began leading the way up the slight incline of the mountain.
The group traversed across the main part of the mountains without any disasters. As they got higher into the center of the range, however, things got a little tenser. They had left behind the simpler, safer form of mountains and entered an extreme hills biome.
"See, that is what I was talking about." Marilan pointed to a large mass of gravel suspended above the mountains, linked to the ground by only a thin spire of rock. Star followed her gaze nervously. "Oh. Yeah, that's gonna be bad when the crevice hits."
Cindy snorted. "When it hits? You make it sound like that's way in the future. It's almost already here. Good thing Aisho's house is pretty close."
Marilan gave her a critical look. "It better be. I'm getting more anxious by the second. Everything's too quiet around here, and it's scaring the heck outta me."
A rumbling, cracking noise came from the side of the mountains, making them all jump. Sure enough, part of the mountains was already being consumed by the crevice, like everything else. "Well, at least it's not quiet anymore." Wolfe muttered.
"Right, because that's thinking positive." Megan rolled her eyes.
Lila had managed to get a ways in front of the rest of the group, scouting ahead. "Guys! Come on! Aisho's house is right here, and the end of the mountain range is just a little bit beyond that!"
This was good news to everyone, and they rushed to catch up with her. As they went around another tall gravel tower, a small, quaint house came into view. It appeared to be the perfect size for a solitary person.
They approached the small dwelling, and Lila excitedly rapped on the door. "Aisho? Are you in there?" The door swung open instantly, revealing a young woman with dark brown hair and deep blue eyes, holding a sword. "Who's there? What do you want?"
"Whoa, chill. It's us." Cindy told her calmly. The unfamiliar girl's eyes lit up. "Well, if it isn't my two favorite troublemakers! Lila and Cindy, in the flesh!"
"Plus a few of our new friends." Lila added. Aisho put the weapon in her inventory. "Notch, Lila, you're friends with the entire world. Who exactly are they? And why are they traveling with you guys now?"
"We're taking them to the Fallen Castle. They're trying to save the world, and we're helping. Do not even start questioning it, I just got Lila to shut up about it." Cindy informed her.
Aisho smiled, then gave Cindy a quick hug. "Of course. We all know how she can be. Man, is it good to see you guys again! I was so worried about whether or not you had managed to avoid the crevice."
Lila shrugged. "Eh, we've mostly been hiding in the Nether. Not the safest place to be, but at least it's not cracking to pieces like the Overworld."
"Pfff, no kidding. I'm gonna have to leave this place behind soon, just to stay safe. And...are you going to introduce me to your 'friends', or are we going to remain strangers?"
"Oh, right. Well, you probably know of Olivia from the Order of the Stone. This is Marilan, and then there's Athena, Wolfe, Star, and Megan. Those four are some of the Authors, and they will hopefully get these crazy-but-awesome powers that we think have something to do with the Fallen Castle."
Aisho blinked, completely nonplussed. "Ah. Yes, thank you Lila, that makes a ton of sense."
Athena heaved an annoyed sigh. "It doesn't make much more sense to us. We were kinda thrown into this whole mess without any warning, so we're just as confused as anyone else. The most we can do is try to find the rest of our friends and hopefully save the world."
"And we're apparently just spreading news about our power to every random stranger we meet..." Wolfe mumbled. Star elbowed her. "Hey, we don't have to be suspicious of everyone. She's friends with Lila and Cindy, and I trust them. They helped you guys out in the Nether, right? They've done nothing to give us any reason to not trust them."
"So there's more of your 'Authors' that you're looking for?" Aisho checked.
"Yeah. We got separated a while back, and we need them if we're going to end the crevice for good." Megan said.
"Speaking of the crevice, we should probably get a move on. I don't want to be anywhere near the mountains when it gets here." Marilan announced. Cindy rolled her eyes. "Marilan, you're paranoid."
The older girl crossed her arms. "It's only paranoia if-"
"Yeah yeah, we know. It's only paranoia if things aren't out to get you; we've heard it before." Olivia snapped. Marilan glowered at her. "The crevice is not to be taken lightly. We've all seen what's been going on."
"I think we've still got some time. We've been traveling for a while; it'd be really nice to not have to be freaking out about stuff for a little while." Wolfe said.
"Well I don't think we should be taking chances. We need to stay ahead of our game if we're all going to make it to the end of this alive." Megan added. "Plus, it's not helping anything to just stand around and argue." Athena gave her a strange look. "Since when are you breaking up fights?"
Megan shrugged. "I don't know. I just don't want anyone to get hurt. We've definitely already had enough of that."
"Eh, true. Not to mention whatever the hell is happening to the others." Star conceded.
They continued through the peaks, chatting with Aisho as they went. The Authors told her about what they knew about their powers and Soren, with Cindy and Lila filling in bits about the Fallen Castle. The dark-haired girl seemed a little shy at first, but soon warmed up to them, and seemed glad to have new people to talk to. Only Marilan didn't join in the conversation. She continued to nervously glance between the edge of the mountains that they were headed towards and the side of the hills that were threatened by the crevice.
For most of the journey, it seemed as though her worries were in vain. They were passing beneath yet another large gravel mass when disaster struck. The crevice finally reached the mountain range, and the impact was instantaneous.
The mountains stared crumbling even faster than average earth, the weak gravel turning to dust in the void. Half of the huge mound of gravel above them began to fall, barely giving them enough to escape.
Athena, Olivia, Star, Aisho, Cindy, and Lila managed to get out before the first layer came down. Wolfe however, hadn't moved in time and was partially trapped in the heap of gravel. Megan and Marilan were trying to get her out. Marilan bolted behind her and tried to lift her up and out, but she slipped on the loose stones, accidentally wedging herself into the death trap of the gravel. She shrieked in frustration and fear.
The others were in full-on panic mode, trying to figure out what to do. If they went to help, they could all end up crushed beneath the falling gravel or pulled down into the oncoming crevice.
"Run, RUN! You gotta get out of there!" Athena screamed to them, rather unhelpfully.
"I can't! I'm stuck!" Wolfe wept. "So am I. I managed to get my foot buried under that!" Marilan growled, trying to tug her leg out from under the largest stack of gravel. Above them, the other half of the gravel mass shook, about to fall.
Megan looked around in a blur of panic, still fighting to get them to safety. "There's gotta be something I can do!"
Marilan pushed her away. "Megan, no. You can't do anything, please just get out of here. You need to survive."
"NO! We can get you out! I have to!" the black-haired girl cried hysterically. "Wolfe, please keep trying! I might be able to-"
"Megan..." Wolfe looked up at the shuddering gravel heap above them, then closed her dark eyes. "You guys need to run, now. We can't get out of this."
The rest of the gravel plummeted down, and Marilan shoved Megan as hard as she could, forcing her out of the immediate danger. "Tell my friends that I love them, and that I'm sorr-"
The gravel heap came down before she finished her sentence, with the entire mountains right behind. The crevice was going straight through the extreme hills, and they collapsed inward. In just a few seconds, every living thing on the entire mountain range would be either crushed by gravel or thrown into the death grip of the crevice.
Megan had been knocked back by the combination of Marilan's push and the kinetic force of the heap coming down. She looked up just in time to see two white puffs of smoke rise above the newly fallen gravel mass, soon followed by the girls' inventories.
She choked back a sob, but there was no time for grief now. Star yanked on her arm, pulling her into a standing position. "Come on, we need to run like we've never run before."
The remaining members of the group raced down the mountain, desperately trying to stay ahead of the collapsing mountains. They finally made it far enough away to be called 'safe', then stopped to catch their breath near the edge of a birch forest.
"Marilan was right. The whole range started coming down." Athena panted. Megan sat down on the grass, stunned into silence.
"Someone please tell me that did not just happen."
"I-I-I think it did." Star stuttered, on the edge of panic.
"Wow. You guys weren't kidding. I didn't think...I never imagined..." Aisho murmured, unsure of what she was going to say.
"You didn't think that coming with us would lead to immediate death and peril?" Olivia asked. "That stuff does tend to happen at the end of the world."
"They're dead. They're really...they're really gone. I can't believe..." Cindy said, her words faint from shock. "Megan, you...I'm so sorry. I didn't know what to do. I should've helped...I should've gone with you...I should've done SOMETHING!"
Megan looked up at her from her seat on the grass. "I don't blame you for staying away. We were all freaking out, and I almost got smashed along with them. If you had helped, we might've all gotten killed."
"What are we supposed to do now?" Lila asked quietly.
"Well as far as I'm aware, our objective hasn't changed. We still need to find that 'Fallen Castle'." Athena said.
"Yeah, we're just missing two people. No biggie." Cindy snapped sarcastically.
Athena didn't reply. She may have preferred not to dwell on the deaths, but that didn't mean she wanted to gloss over them completely.
A loud voice came from not far behind them, making them all start with surprise. "Did you guys SEE THAT?! What the hell!"
They all turned as best they could to see a group of people hurtling towards them, drawn by the noise of the mountains collapsing.
"Who-" Lila started to ask, but was cut off by Olivia's triumphant yell as she recognized them.
"Petra! Lukas! You're alive!"
Sure enough, it was Petra, Lukas, Stacy, Stampy, Dan, Myst, and Dawson, with a reddish-brown dog following after her.
Petra stopped short, recognizing the other Authors and Olivia. "Holy CRAP! How did you guys wind up HERE?! You know what, I don't even care right now. You're okay!"
Olivia immediately pulled her and Lukas into a relieved group hug, extremely glad to see them. Dawson and Star also hugged. "I know it hasn't actually been very long, but it feels like I haven't seen you in ages!" Dawson exclaimed.
"Same here!" Star laughed, but her expression quickly turned somber. "But what...where's everyone else? Jasmine and Aranna and Aiden and...whoever the heck was with us?"
Lukas shook his head. "We don't know. You remember what happened when the crevice hit; it separated all of us. And I thought you were with some of the others?"
Star bit her lip. "Um...not really? As far as I know, Rush, Aranna, and Kendall made it across the crevice but I...didn't."
Myst narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about? How did you manage to not get killed?" Star fidgeted uncomfortably, unsure of what to say.
Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it) for her, Athena intervened. "She managed to fall into the crevice, from what she told us. It seems like her Author powers might've saved her."
"Like a forcefield?" Dawson asked, tipping her head to one side curiously. Star shrugged. "Maybe? I guess that sounds about right."
"Meanwhile...who are they? And where did you get the dog?" Megan inquired gesturing to the three YouTubers and Ginger.
"Oh come on! You don't know them?" Lila exclaimed indignantly. Megan just shrugged.
"Right, right. Let's go through introductions again." Petra huffed. The Authors, YouTubers, and the newer trio each made sure they were all familiar with each other's names.
"By the way, Dan, Stacy, and I found the dog wandering in the Portal Network. Dawson decided to adopt her, despite what Petra told her." Stampy explained.
"I can see why. She's super cute." Lila said, leaning down to pet the tawny dog. Dawson beamed. "I know, right? She's a sweetheart. I named her Ginger."
Star grinned. "I have a cat named Ginger! Guess that's a common pet name." Her smile faded as a new thought came to mind. "I sure hope she's okay. The crevice hadn't started affecting my world when I left, but I'm sure it's there now."
"Yeah, I know how you feel. I'm kinda always worried about my cousin Mouse, but now my worries are just in overdrive." Dawson admitted.
Myst shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking down at the ground. "Not to mention the others. I wish there was a surefire way to know if they've survived so far." Her head jerked up as she suddenly realized something.
"Hey wait a minute. Where's the rest of your group?" she asked, gesturing to Athena.
"We...ran into a bit of trouble. Like you, we ended up getting separated." Olivia said.
"Yeah, I was wondering about that. What happened? How did you guys get all the way over here?" Lukas asked her.
The remainder of Nether group glanced at each other for a few seconds, then Megan began to speak. She outlined what had happened, from Minty's mysterious ability, to Jacky and Salem's attack, to being trapped in the Nether and meeting Cindy and Lila, to accidently finding Star and Marilan, to traveling across the mountains and Aisho joining the team. She stopped talking after that, unwilling to break the worst news.
Cindy was the one who decided to step up to the plate. The shorter girl quietly told them what had happened to Marilan and Wolfe, with extra help from Star and Athena. When they finished their story, no one was able to speak for several minutes. Dawson was covering her mouth in shock and horror while Lukas looked absolutely floored. "They're...they're both gone? Just like that?"
Olivia nodded. "We didn't know what to do. And the shock is kinda still fresh, if you know what I mean. It's not all the time that you have to see something like that happen right in front of you."
Stacy shook her head. "That's terrible. I mean, we didn't even know them, but that's still pretty awful."
Petra absent-mindedly ran a hand through her fiery hair, trying to process the sickening info of the recent deaths. "Marilan...freaking Notch, why? Crushed under gravel...ugh, nasty way to go. I don't look forward to telling the Blaze Rods that she's gone. From what I can tell, Aiden's gonna flip."
"Yeah, that'll be a great conversation. And poor little Wolfe. If anyone deserved a better end to her story, it was that girl." Lila said sadly.
Petra nodded, then glanced up at the dusky sky. "We might want to find shelter or something soon. It must have something to do with that stupid Command Block, because time has been being hella weird recently."
The recently reunited group headed into the forest to find a place to rest, hoping against hope that everything could maybe turn out okay.
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LMAO
'HELLA'
PETRA IS CHLOE CONFIRMED XDD
Aaaaand of course you know who we gotta check in with now.
I like writing Ship Group okay
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"Has anyone else noticed that time seems to be moving weirdly? Or is that just me?" Kendall asked, looking up at the rapidly darkening sky.
"Whaddaya mean?" Minty asked, unhelpfully answering the question with an inquiry of her own.
"The days seem shorter, even though it's not winter." The rust-haired girl replied, then stole a glance over at Soren. If he sensed her confusion, he didn't say anything.
"Great. So not only are the worlds falling apart, but so is all of reality." Jasmine grumbled. She wasn't in a great mood, and for a plausible reason. Most of her skin had taken on a purplish shade, and the whites of her eyes were tinted yellow. Her Wither was spreading fast, with no signs of stopping for anything.
She glanced at the most afflicted patch on her arm, where the initial cut was. It was a sickening violet, a sure sign of death on its way.
Jesse noticed her examining the wound. "I wonder why it's spreading so fast. Petra's Withersickness didn't take nearly this long to affect her this much."
"Well with me, the poison was on a dagger, so it went right into my blood. Hers was just on the surface of her skin. I don't have nearly as long as she did." Jasmine replied heartlessly.
Rush fell into step with them. "We'll find a way to cure you, I swear it."
"What if you don't, though? We're pretty much out of time. I'll consider myself lucky if I survive to see tomorrow." She turned away, trying not to let her sadness show. She didn't mention the feeling to the others. The feeling that this was the end of her. The feeling that they couldn't save her, no matter what they did. The feeling that her dead companions were waiting for her on the other side.
"That doesn't mean you can just give up. I absolutely refuse to let you quit right now." Jesse said with a shake of her black hair.
"I'm not quitting! I'm just facing the facts!" Jasmine shot back, her anger flaring. "I'd rather accept the truth than pretend that everything's fine!"
"No, you're sugarcoating the fact that you've resigned yourself to your fate. There's too much at stake; you need to keep fighting." Jesse admonished.
"You don't need to tell me what to do. I know perfectly well what's at stake, and you're not in charge of me." Jasmine said, glowering up at her. Jesse gave the shorter girl an even stare. "Do you really want to be having this conversation?"
Jasmine bit back a sharp response. She didn't know where this hostility had come from, and she wasn't sure she liked it.
"We should stop for the night. If we build a platform above the ground, the crevice can't hurt us." Ellegaard suggested. Rush frowned. "Uh, yes it can."
Ellegaard seemed confused. "How? It can't destroy anything that's not touching the ground."
"Well yes, but what if we wake up tomorrow and there's only void below us? We wouldn't even feel any warning earthquakes, and then we'd be majorly screwed." The cat-eared girl pointed out.
"That's why we keep a lookout." Soren said simply, speaking to them for the first time in hours.
"Oh, now he speaks." Maya hissed. With just those simple words, the rest of the group was reminded of their hostility towards the former Old Builder.
"I'll take first watch, since we obviously can't trust you." Rush said to Soren. Logan frowned. "Rush, you were on watch duty for most of last night. You should catch up on sleep, and someone else can take the guard job."
The brown-haired girl stubbornly shook her head. "I'll be fine. Let's just build this platform-whatever."
(We're skipping to after they've built the damn thing because it was two in the morning when I wrote this part.)
The group was spread out around the platform, with a good amount of room to move around. The Authors had already compared their experiences with Jacky and Salem, and their minor knowledge of their powers. Soren, of course, gave them no new info.
Kendall glanced over at where the remaining members of the original Order were sitting. "So, I know this probably isn't the best time to bring it up, but I'm curious. About...Magnus. How are you guys coping?" She was obviously hoping for an answer from Ellegaard, but the Redstone engineer remained silent.
Her question hung in the air for a few more quiet moments before Gabriel spoke. "Losing Magnus was a bitter blow. He was our friend, and we miss him very much. But it's been a year, and we're moving on."
"After all, we already hadn't seen him in years. Sometimes I can forget that he's actually gone. I can make myself imagine that he's just still in Boomtown, or off on an adventure of his own." Soren murmured wistfully.
"It's not the same." Ellegaard said abruptly. "Maybe you can, but I can't just pretend that nothing's any different. Magnus was...special to me, and I can't just let him go that easily." She turned away from them, staring rather dramatically into the fading twilight. "He's dead, and nothing we do can bring him back. That's something that few of you 'Authors' will ever understand."
"Um, hello? Not true." Minty reminded her. "We've lost people as well. Aiden. Star. Ruby. Gill. Maybe Marilan and Axel. All of them are gone, too."
Some of them might be alright though. I don't know for sure if they've survived everything that's been thrown at them, but I have little reason to believe that they're all gone. Aaron said inside Minty's mind, but she didn't have time to reply before one of the others spoke.
"We know that death is forever. We might be new at this 'hero' business, but not all of us are new to tragedy." Rush commented, pulling her knees up against her chest.
"Can we maybe not talk about death anymore?" Aranna asked.
"Why?" Maya responded.
"Because...I don't want to think about it. It's sad, and there are better things to talk about." Aranna replied quietly.
"Yeah, but we might as well accept what's happening. This isn't a game. This isn't some story in a book. It's not fake or pretend. People are dying, and we can't do much about it. Heck, we might all die tomorrow or the next day." Jasmine replied.
"But that's exactly my point. We know that it's happening, so why not focus on the brighter things while we still can?" Aranna pointed out.
Jasmine's bravado shattered, and she got to her feet, close to tears. "Because some of us can't escape it. Some of us are as good as dead already. Look at me. I'm a dead girl walking, nothing left to lose. You think I really want to think about the 'brighter things' when I know that I can't change what's happening?" She choked back a sob on the last few words.
Rush was the next one to stand up. "There's a difference between facing the facts and being completely hopeless."
"Maybe for you. Maybe before now. But everything's different." her dark-haired friend whispered. Rush's face turned sad. "Jasmine, I just want to-"
"You can't do anything! You can't help me! I thought you of all people would get that, but never mind."
Kendall also got up, ready to defend Rush. "Hey, chill. She didn't do anything to you, calm down."
Jasmine lowered her head, feeling hot tears sting her eyes. "I'm gonna go down for a bit. I'd rather be alone." she muttered quietly, then walked over to the ladder leading down from the platform.
"Jas, no! Please just..." Minty trailed off as it became clear that Jasmine wasn't listening to her.
"Great, now she's upset with us." Kendall muttered. Rush jabbed her with a thin finger. "Hey, be nice. You can hardly blame her for acting this way, after everything we've been through."
"Do any of you want to go down and talk to her, or should I?" Jesse asked.
"I'll go. I don't think she's mad at me quite yet." Logan decided, starting down the ladder.
Jasmine didn't have the energy to go far. She sat with her back to a tree and dropped her head into her hands, the noise in her head drowning out everything else. She barely registered the approaching footsteps, and she only looked up when one of her friends plopped down next to her.
"Hey. You doin' alright?" Logan asked gently.
Jasmine lowered her head again, trying hard to ignore him and failing miserably.
"Come on, you can talk to me. Get it out of your system." He told her. She lifted her head, hoping he couldn't see the tearstains on her face in the dim light.
"You were right, Logan. You were right all along. This is completely hopeless." She sighed. Logan nudged her with his shoulder.
"Aren't you the one who's usually trying to convince me?" he asked jokingly. "I don't know how to do this 'comforting' stuff."
Jasmine's somber expression didn't change. "Fine, I get your point. But you gotta admit, this is getting old. We can only lift each other up so many times before we both go down." The words ended in a painful-sounding Wither-induced bout of coughing.
This didn't deter Logan in the slightest. He got to his feet, then reached down and helped her up, keeping ahold of her hand. "We can finish this. We can all make it out alive."
Jasmine searched his wistful expression, trying to figure out where this was coming from. "You know I'm not going to survive. I might not even make it to tomorrow. This Withersickness is too strong." She murmured.
"Nothing wrong with hoping." He replied gently. "All we can do keep fighting and hope for the best."
Before Jasmine could think of a reply, Logan leaned over and lightly kissed her on the cheek. She felt her eyes go wide, and blushed instantly.
With a slight smile and a pink flush covering his face, he turned and walked back to the others. Jasmine stood still, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Logan. The hostile, snappish, sullen boy who had changed so much in such a short time. And he...liked her.
Jasmine repressed a sigh. Now? Really? At the end of the world, and probably the end of her life, now was when she found someone who cared about her like that?
Go-freaking-figure. she thought, unsure of whether to smile or cry. She shook her head, trying to push the emotions away, then ambled back to the platform. There wasn't time to be thinking about this anymore.
The others seemed anxious as she came up the ladder. "Are you okay? Everything alright?" Minty asked gently.
"Um, yeah. I'm fine." Jasmine reassured her, trying to decide whether that was a lie or not.
"Good. Logan wouldn't say anything other than 'she'll be okay', and obviously that was doing nothing to appease us." Maya informed her. Kendall gave her a sideways look. "'Appease'? Who says that?!"
"Um, I just did? It's a word." Maya replied in a tone that implied that she thought Kendall was the dumbest creature in this world.
"Yeah, a word no one has ever used in the history of humanity." Aranna shot back, grinning. Maya gave them both a disgruntled look. "Don't pick on me for knowing my vocab."
Rush clapped her hands, looking mischievously excited. "I have an idea. Anyone up for a word game?" She seemed to jump at the opportunity to relieve the tension.
Logan turned towards her just enough for the cat-eared girl to see his suspicious expression. "I've heard the way you talk; I'm not about to get sucked into a 'word game' with you."
Rush rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, it's fun. And I think we could all do with getting our minds off of depressing stuff for a while."
The majority of them agreed, and Rush explained how to play. They quickly got into it, shouting out answers and laughing at each other. Kendall and Aranna made a good team, but Minty had an advantage over all of them, due to Aaron telling her his own ideas in her mind.
Jasmine kept trying to catch Logan's attention as they played, hoping to meet his gaze, hoping for some form of connection. But he seemed determined to ignore her, devoting all his attention to their other friends and the game. Jesse glanced over at Jasmine, apparently noticing her hopeful look and watching it all with a questioning, yet slightly amused expression. The younger girl dropped her gaze, not wanting Jesse to come to her own conclusions.
They remained awake late into the night, continuing the game and talking about whatever came to mind. In the heat of the adventure, it could be forgotten that the Authors, despite their heroics and would-be powers, were still just teenagers. They knew what they had to do and what was at stake, but they still needed some time to unwind.
Kendall ended falling asleep first, dozing off with her head resting on Rush's shoulder. Logan laughed, pointing out that she definitely couldn't take first watch now. Rush made a face at him, but reluctantly agreed.
Each of the Authors eventually fell asleep, except for Aranna taking the first turn on guard. They were all glad to have had a chance to relax, to enjoy the time the time they still had.
Except for one.
----------------------------------
Jasmine awoke to a stabbing pain in her heart and lungs. She drew in a deep breath that rattled in her chest, then looked down at her hands. They were now a deep purple speckled with black, and seemed to be rotting slightly around the edges.
She squeaked in fear, her Withered lungs unable to make a louder sound. Violet tears began to flow down her face as she realized the gravity of the situation. Jasmine knew she was as good as dead. By morning, her body would be gone entirely, eaten up by her Withersickness. She was almost gone, and it was almost over for her.
Jasmine suddenly felt like someone was watching her. She snapped her head up, meeting Logan's sorrowful eyes for the first time since the kiss. He was the one currently on guard duty, standing in one corner of the platform.
"I'm dead." She whispered as he walked over and sat beside her. "It's over for me."
"I'm sorry. I don't even know what to say anymore." Logan replied softly. Her tears continued to fall as she pulled her knees up to her chest, curling into a little ball of despair.
"I'm going to die. No, not even 'going to'. I'm about to die, right now." She sobbed quietly. Logan sat still beside her as the floodgates opened letting out every last drop of sadness that she had. Eventually, she tried dry her tears, feeling completely empty and broken. There was nothing left to do.
Jasmine got to her feet, her knees almost giving way beneath her. "Where are you going?" Logan asked quietly, also standing up.
"I don't know. It doesn't matter. I need to be alone for a little bit. While I still can."
"I just w-"
She cut him off before he could finish the sentence. "No. Don't try to say anything comforting, don't give me any sad goodbyes. You can't do anything." Jasmine said softly, valiantly fighting off the rest of her tears.
"I just wish it could've been different." Logan said hoarsely. She huffed an almost silent, humorless laugh. "Don't we all."
She walked a little ways into the forest. Her legs felt shaky, though she wasn't sure if that was from her sickness or the crevice continuing to alter the world. After only a few minutes, her legs gave out, and she leaned back against a tree.
The Withersickness flooded through her, and she was too weak to even try to fight it.
Too weak. Too tired. She wanted to rest.
Jasmine closed her eyes with a small sigh. Part of her mind was still crying out over the end, but that voice was quickly growing quieter.
Her heart slowed,
her breathing became fainter,
her mind went silent,
and her shaking hands grew still
as the Withersickness claimed her.
-------------------------
what have i done...
>:D
QUICK EVERYONE REMIND ME OF YOUR CHARACTER'S EYE COLOR
I HAVE A REALLY COOL ART IDEA AND I NEED TO KNOW EYE COLORS
...and I'm too lazy to search back through all those forms XD
Um.
So.
Some of you probably want apologies. *cough cough* Jasgan *cough*
I...that...yeah...that was pretty much the Jasgan oneshot that I didn't write.
BUT
YOU STARTED THE ORDER OF THE RUSHDALL
SO I REGRET NOTHING
N O T H I N G
And uuuuhhhmmmm...Wolfe. I'm sorreh ;-;
You never really specified whether or not it was okay for me to kill her so...I just assumed that I could. Sorryyyyy
Partway through, I was feeling kinda out of it, and I accidentally ALMOST wrote Marilan back into the story, having her make a witty comeback or something without really realizing what I was doing. I caught myself, though. "Nope, you can't do that! Don't be an idiot! Pay attention!"
But I did try to Megan a bit nicer, instead of her just being a total jerk for no reason. Also tried to give everyone more dialogue, because that is the ONE thing that I'm decent at writing.
And be prepared for a DAMN LOT of horrible things next chapter. Well, not as much 'horrible things' but more 'everyone learning what kinds of horrible things have been happening to each other'. That'll be fun, right?
But lookit! I published on a Tuesday! And I'm going to try AS HARD AS I FREAKING CAN to update like normal again. I want to have this finished by the beginning of summer break.
I don't think this book is going to be much longer. It'll probably be 15 chapters, tops, plus an epilogue (maybe). Just so ya know. Though I'm still not entirely sure about the epilogue.
And by the way, Contact is the BEST word game ever. It's kinda complicated, but it's SOO much fun with a large group of people.
Whoops, almost forgot. Aisho belongs to LapisWriter. She left a form recently, and I figured I could manage to squeeze in one more character.
BYE NOW. IMMA GO WATCH MORE 'LIFE IS STRANGE' GAMEPLAY
Word count: 7111 holy crap