The Adventures And Mishaps of a Half-Plant Apothecary - Febuwhump 2024

Day 18 - Too Weak To Move

CW: Blood, chasing, helplessness(?)

AN: I definitely didn't forget to post this yesterday shhhhhhhhh

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Calixto is many things, but brave is not one of them.

It huffs, collapsing onto the floor for just a second, before picking itself back up again and continuing to run.

Why did it do that?

It slams its back against a tall chorus flower. It barely hides its body. If they even moved to the side, just a bit, they would see it. Still, it was fine for now. Just a second, and it'd be up and running again.

How did it do that?

Calixto blinks, and they are much closer. Sweat burns on its brow. It shoves off the flower, before starting to get away again. As it runs, though, every time it gets even slightly ahead, they teleport ahead a few blocks ahead. It couldn't outrun them if it tried.

What will happen if it does that again?

It glances around the islands, nearly falling into the empty expanse of void whilst doing so. Its eyes glaze over the floating cities. Everything is a blur.

Could it do that again?

Its gaze locks onto the portal in the distance. It knows it's not allowed to go there, that there are extreme consequences if it does... but really, it's already broken a rule just by surviving, what's another for its already years' long sentence? Calixto tries to move faster, but eventually does the opposite and slows slightly, allowing them to catch up. It feels unfamiliar claws around its skin. Blood, too red, too liquid to be what it's supposed to be, pours out of the wounds.

What if it did that again?

It squeezes its eyes shut. Please, it prays, to the Universe and Fate and every higher power it can think of as they dig their marks further into its body, Please get me out of here.

What if it does that again?

Calixto blacks out.

---

And it is alive.

Everything feels like mush. It tries to move, but even that seems like too much of an effort. It feels ringing in its ears. Isn't that weird?

Finally, Calixto finally gets the idea to get up and have a look to see what kind of cell it's gotten into now. It tries to blink its eyes open.

Nothing moves.

Panic begins to rush through its chest as it tries to move its arm a little to the side. Still, the only thing it's able to do is weakly twitch a finger.

Finally, after multiple tries, it blinks its eyes open. Everything is a blur, and Calixto almost starts to rub its eyes when it realises that it can't fucking move.

Its gaze darts over to one side, then the other, and that's when it realises that there is bedrock next to it. It takes another second to realise that it's looking at the literal end portal. The one it's not supposed to be anywhere near.

The one it can use to escape.

Calixto breathes in as much as it can, before pushing all its energy into sitting up. It barely manages to shove itself up a few inches before falling back down, nearly hitting its head on the endstone floor.

Attempt two gives way better results, ending up with Calixto leaning its head against the bedrock edge of the portal. Maybe, if it rolled over a little bit, it woul fall through the portal, and it would be free.

It slowly, painstakingly, lifts one leg, then the other, onto the bedrock border, then leans back onto the portal.

Well. It's now or never.

Calixto shuts its eyes, exhales, and rolls into the portal.

There's a flash of white, then black.

It opens its eyes to a blue sky.

It's free.

Calixto is many things, and brave is one of them.

Calixto left the game