Heart of Demise.

Dual Drain.

I have found myself in a very bad situation.

Getting water or food was hard enough and finding a used firearm left me a bit shook. But those were nothing in the face of my current predicament; I was lost. That's right. I was lost.

"This... this just happened, damn it!"

I kicked one of the boulders, regretted it, then kept walking around with a little limp. This whole village was honestly a bigger maze than the hill one, and considering how I was still thirsty and all, the experience was much worse. I couldn't even backtrack because every building in this place looked so similar. The combination of all these factors led me to commit a single action: I sat down.

I took a little breather, wiped the sweat off my brow and stared at the sky a little. Though the trees were big, they didn't do a good job of blocking the light. And, it could just be me, but it felt hotter than before.

"I... I'm probably just hallucinating."

I checked my pockets. The gun and clip were still there. That's reassuring. If the situation ever became worse, then I had something to defend myself. Sort of.

With that assurance, I stood up again. The situation was bad, yes, but I was calmer now. My body was working its hardest, so my mind should do the same.

"Let's go find that water."

–

–

–

"..."

The scent struck her as unfamiliar. She wasn't in the same place as when she... well, she didn't remember.

She remembered the fight, the one against the ancient, the one that was intercepted by the human boy she tried to save. The sight of the boy standing arms out was the last thing she remembered, so that must've been when she passed out.

She opened her eyes. It was black, but a glimmer of yellow was in her peripheral. She sniffed the air; it was disgusting. It reeked of wood, dust, wet dirt and old blood.

She turned her head to her right, the light blinding her. Once she adjusted, she looked below her; her old friend was sleeping soundly.

"Rupert...?"

She placed the heel of her palm against her forehead, rubbing the fatigue out of her. Questions started to arise; where was she? Why was she here? Why was Rupert with her? And why... why wasn't Lewis?

"No... it couldn't be."

Waves upon waves of terrible hypotheses and worst-case scenarios instantly overwhelmed her. The pressure of her palm on her head grew. Had it... had that effort of hers truly been for nothing? What was the point? If she couldn't save Lewis from the Ancient, then what even was the fucking point?

Why had she made the gesture to fight? She could've just grabbed Lewis, couldn't she? She could've just ran away, avoided the ancient, and not been wounded to top it all off.

Why did she fight? Why did she have to fight? She–

"..."

Ah, that was it. She didn't have to fight.

She never did.

–

–

–

God was making a joke, and I was the pointiest, most backward molecule of it.

Of all the reptiles, bacteria, plants, mammals or insects that he could have placed in this prison along with Rupert, it just had to be this one. In this boulder house, I stand, gazing at a cockroach plastered onto the ceiling.