Words Unspoken - A Hermitcraft Story

The Flames

No one trusted Tango. No one but Scar. And so, in turn, Scar's people trusted him.

But Tango was losing trust in Scar. The compound was getting restless, and Scar refused to open the doors. Why? All he said was that an attack was coming. Tango followed the orders he was given, but was afraid of what would happen if this kept up for too long.

He lay in bed gazing at his wrists. A line of tiny runes wrapped around each one, courtesy of Scar. They helped him control his magic. He focused on a single rune in front, the one Scar said was the most important. The control link. At any time, Tango could break this link by using just a little bit of magic, but he knew as soon as he was given them that he would never. Fire was too dangerous for anyone to control. For him to control.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

Huh? What was that? Wait! The communicator. It was working!

<Message from Scar> Can you turn the lockdown system off?

This was even more unnerving. No explanation for his actions.

<Message Scar> You sure, boss?

<Message from Scar> Yes.

Within a second, Tango chose to trust his boss. It was the least he could do after years of Scar putting trust in him. So he unlocked the compound. After a few minutes, everyone would see the red lights had turned off. Tango watched the redstone system deactivate, lines and lines of redstone going dark. Soon after, he walked into the common area. No one was there. He checked the surface, and everyone was soaking up the sun. But Scar was still nowhere to be seen. And Grian, that is. Perhaps the pair would be together.

Tango walked down to Scar's office, a place he found himself often. He knocked on the door, but got no response. He pushed the door open, and saw Scar curled up on the floor. Crying.

"Scar!"

No response. Tango rushed over to his boss and pulled him into a hug.

"Scar."

A choked sob escaped Scar's lips as he cried, the sound crushing Tango's already too broken heart.

"I made a mistake, Tango. A big, big mistake." Scar's voice was barely above a whisper.

"It'll be okay."

"No, Tango. It will never be okay."

Tango didn't know what to say, so he didn't. Instead he let Scar cry, his sobs becoming softer and softer as Tango clutched him close.

"How 'bout you get a shower? You'll feel better once you're all clean."

Scar nodded, and Tango let go of his boss. He pulled the wizard to his feet and the pair walked down the halls to the bath. It was a communal room, with showers sectioned off so people could have some privacy. Tango turned the farthest shower up all the way, not caring that they were wasting hot water.

He left the room to let Scar relax and bit his cheek trying not to scream. He was frustrated. Tired. Sick of being hungry and cold. He could appreciate what Scar was trying to do, agreed with it completely, in fact. But this? This was not what he imagined.

Tango walked outside the compound, and decided to climb a tree. It was something he did all the time as a kid, before he began incinerating anything he touched. Now, thanks to Scar, he could do things like this again. He climbed to the very top branch he could before they turned to sticks that would definitely not support his weight. He took a deep breath, and looked over at the people. They seemed so happy. So peaceful.

If only Tango could have that peacefulness back. If only Tango could go back to the life before.

Tango shook his head. He didn't want to feel sad right now. It was so much easier to be angry. The air warmed up, and Tango saw a wisp of smoke. What? He looked down and saw a light glow around his hands. No.