Cycle of Vengeance//A Camp Minecraft AU

Chapter Fourteen: Beginning of the End

TW: Insane Piece of Bread

     "Alxton!" Zud shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Where are you?"

     "Alxton!" Kate echoed, glancing around the forest, a burning torch in hand. The moon was obscured by a blanket of clouds, casting them in darkness, making it difficult to make out even the simplest of forms.

     The hybrid didn't answer. They continued forward, leaving the familiarity of the cabin behind them as they ventured into the eerie woods. Truth be told, neither had explored this stretch of the forest.

     "He couldn't have gone far, right?" Kate glanced at him.

     "I don't know, he seemed pretty spooked," Zud replied.

     Kate sighed. "Yeah. I would've run too." They gasped, pointing at something in the dirt. "Look!"

     He jogged over to his friend, peering down. Boot prints were in the loose soil. The tracks took a sharp turn away from a heap of rocks.

     They followed the prints without question. Worry crept up his spine. After everything that had happened tonight, he wasn't sure of anything anymore. Alxton must be in a much worse state of mind. Surely he wouldn't get himself hurt though, right?

     He'll be fine. He's probably just hiding somewhere. However, he quickened his pace until he was sprinting through the woods. The light of the torch danced on its own accord, illuminating the path ahead. He was staring at the ground so long that he forgot to pay attention and a hefty branched whacked him in the face.

     "Oomph!" He staggered back, rubbing his hurting nose. Kate snickered at him as she ran past.

     He grumbled an insult under his breath and continued. They followed the tracks until they went from boot prints to deep gouges, indicating Alxton had slipped and fallen. Large chunks of dirt had been flung from beneath a tree. A burrow had been dug, dodging around various roots that emerged from the tree.

     Inside, with dirt smeared over his huddled form, was Alxton. His muzzle was between his paws and his eyes were closed. He kept twitching and murmuring, as if having a bad dream.

     Zud let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Alxton was safe. He was alive.

     "Should we wake him?" He whispered.

     Alxton let out a strangled howl, making both of them jump.

     "That's a yes," Kate answered, running over to the hybrid. They knelt down and shook him lightly.

     Alxton's eyes snapped open with a gasp as he sprang to his feet, smashing his head against the top of the burrow. He fell back down and clutched his skull, letting out a hiss of pain.

     Zud offered him his hand and the hybrid took it. He pulled him out of the hole, noticing red marks on Alxton's face. His eyes were red and puffy and his muzzle was wet with tears.

     Zud was about to say something when an uninvited voice broke in. Loaf stepped out from the shadows like some Disney villain, eyeing the three of them like a cat would eye a mouse. "Looks like someone had a grand time down memory lane," he hummed.

     Kate narrowed their eyes. The three of them edged together ever so slightly.

     "Something tells me it's not a good thing that you're here." Zud was consciously aware of the blade sheathed to his side.

     "Well, you three are the only ones not blinded by hate...."

     Alxton flicked an ear, his eyes dark.