Hels Rebellion

Chapter 16: On the Run

The forest behind Bdubs ever-expanding village was vast. Beyond the windy river was a birch grove so dense with trees that Bdubs himself planned on simply covering it up some day.

Footfalls sounded through the foliage as Bdubs ran through the birch woods. He had never liked birch, but now it served as both his saving grace to slow down his pursuers - as well as an obstacle that slowed himself down as well.

His breath was heavy, and he wished he was wearing more than diamond boots - so that maybe he would have a chance to turn and fight.

Instead he continued forward, dodging low limbs and high roots as the foot steps behind him grew louder and closer.

He wasn't even sure who it was that started chasing him. He had started the day in his base - calmly working on one of his best builds this far. Ignoring the ache in his heart as he tried not to think about the server's missing builder..

That was when a trident whisked about two inches from his face. The sharp end of the weapon digging into the stripped oak in front of him. If he hadn't moved at just the right moment that would have...

The man turned around, looking for the location of whichever hermit decided to try and take his life. The trident screamed either Doc or Scar but he wasn't sure why they would randomly attack him now of all time.

"What the heck!" he yelled to the shadows of his base, "You coulda hit me!"

"That would be the point." A voice responded, close to Doc's.... but not.. right. It had an oddly american-southern twang to it, is Doc seriously playing a character right now?

Before the hermit could even respond, a wolf that had to be at least twice the size of him jumped from the shadows. Brown and black fur and sharp white teeth.

Bdubs screamed, taking off the other direction. That wasn't Ren.. that wasn't Ren!

He had nearly fallen down the riverbank into the cold water below, but the monster was getting closer, so he jumped. Swimming as fast as he could before pulling himself into that cursed birch forest.

Now the wolf was gaining... closer and closer. He could feel the ground tremble beneath him, he could practically feel the beast's breath on his neck.

He couldn't out run the monster.

The man skid to the side, toppling behind one of the larger birch trees gracefully. He opened his inventory and desperately tried to pull out his armor. He managed to get out his sword, and don his helmet when the wolf caught up.

Large brown claws caught his arm before the entire weight of the wolf pressed him down by the tree. His inventory shut automatically and he stared up at the beast with wide eyes.

Icy blue eyes glared back at him, teeth dangerously close to his neck. He froze, the sword falling from his hand with a soft, grassy clatter. He swallowed.

The trident made it's return, as a man stepped from the tree line.

It resembled Doc, but he was dressed in a standard western garb, and as far as Bdubs could tell with his shaking vision - he didn't have any robotic features like his friend did.

Was there another creeper hybrid on the server? And another werewolf??

He began to kick at the wolf, instinct kicking in before panic could fully take over, "Get off of me!"

The kick didn't do much, other than just earning another snap of teeth near his face. He went quiet, and stopped kicking as the creeper got closer to him.

He carried himself as confidently as Doc, and his trident was just as deadly - however, there was a thick chain rope in his green claws. Bdubs glanced behind the taller man to see a much shorter female behind him.

"Stress?!" he half whispered, his voice breaking just slightly on her name.

The female gave him a smug smile, stepping around the creeper. The wolf stopped growling as she approached.

"Hi, Bdubs," her voice sounded more... snarky than usual. As if she had won some big contest or pulled off some big prank. The hermit desperately hoped this was some prank.

"Wolf," she addressed the beast, "Get offa him." The wolf did just that.

She turned to the creeper, "Is Glaze at the base?"

He nodded and she smiled again, "Holliday, tie him up wouldya?"

The hybrid nodded, stepping over Bdubs, untwisting the chain rope. Bdubs began to panic again, and kicked at the taller man's ankles. "Back off!" he yelled, backing himself up against the tree.

The creeper growled and went to tie him up, but Bdubs didn't stop struggling. "Stress" looked annoyed and she took a potion out of the bag on her hip.

She tossed it at the male, and it shattered - a gaseous fume rising from the spilt liquid.

The smaller hermit couldn't remember much after that... all he recalled was being held down.. tied up.. slipping into unconsciousness?

Who was that?

-

The real Stress was in her own base. Just arriving home after Xisuma had set her off from the shopping district.

She was so tired, and as she glided down from her nether portal, her body ached in exhaustion.

She landed before the skull where her bedroom was and headed up the water tunnel to her room. The bed looks so soft and inviting and she didn't hesitate to walk over and flop on top of it.

The hermit exhaled deeply, letting herself relax as she snuggled up to her pillow.

There was the soft sound of a footstep from behind her. Stress flinched, rolling over and looking behind her. She didn't see anyone and she pushed herself up on the pillow, looking into the dark corners of her base.

Maybe a baddie got in through the water shoot or somefin?

With a groan she rolled out of the bed, pulling out her sword with a grunt. She took a few steps towards the corner of her base, looking around her.

With a sharp his a trident rushed by her face. It hit her sword, knocking both weapons to the floor.

"Wot the-" Stress started, before a giant ball of fur rammed into her side, knocking her onto the floor with a pained huff.

She and the mass toppled to the floor. The hermit gasped as she looked up, seeing the massive beast before her.

His sharp claws were pressed over her chest, just below her collar, keeping her pinned down - if not choked.

Her attempts to kick at the wolf were in vain, she was exhausted and even the rush of adrenaline she felt wasn't enough.

There was the sound of glass shattering next to her. She let out a cry as a cloudy fog filled the room.

She felt herself go limp, and saw a humanoid figure step closer... right as she felt herself lose consciousness.