Withering World [MCSM Fanfiction]

RAVAGEMENT: Chapter 54

Petra

A thin hiss thrums in my ears. My instincts kick in and I dart in the opposite direction of the noise.

Before I know it, I'm blown off the ground and into the air. I barrel into the stone, rolling to my feet as my armor comes in my favor again.

"Gosh Axel! Are you trying to kill us?"

"Crap, I'm sorry," he says. Smog from the TNT blast curls around him. He lights another and throws it into the darkness where mobs lie ahead. "I thought you usually found this stuff cool."

"I would've if I wasn't about to get killed," I yell, taking out another zombie right before the TNT explodes in the distance.

It's been an entire week since I spent that time with Jesse in the hospital, a whole week since I agreed to the most burdensome of a deal. In all honesty, I should be preparing right now, getting used to dealing with paperwork and citizen affairs, though of course, Jesse's office in QZ's central sector is the least manageable place for me to be in right now. Besides, Axel leads Boomtown and he's practically slacking. So back in the mineshafts I am to wait on edge for Jesse's outcome.

"Petra watch out!"

Amidst of my pondering, Jack punches the creeper out of the way, a third explosion booming in our ears.

"My bad," I mutter, switching my senses back on.

This loot-scavenging is becoming a blister on my hand, which only seems to swell every day. My tears are in the strikes of my weapon, my woe in the power of each blow.

I stop to watch Jack and Axel on the onslaught and my knees buckle at the thought of my insignificance. They look like me, living a life of constant fighting and pelting to keep the monsters away, but I'm losing my guts to do just that.

Without them noticing, I duck out, carrying myself back into the stronghold to anxiously rest.

I will be nothing without her.

If I lose her forever, I might just lose me too...

----

Olivia might be more willing to teach me how to lead Beacontown. She'd be more serious and overall more qualified for the task, which I may make quite difficult for her.

The ceiling seems more vast, the perfect chasm for all my coursing memories to be put into play. Millions of them whizzing around like bees, or at least I believe they're bees until they sting me again and again like wasps.

At one end, there's a cluster of Lukas.

We shake hands to a deal and exchange goods: I give him the nether star and he gives me the diamond as I wish him well for the building contest... I grab hold of him before he can escape the Order Hall, telling him I need a buffer between me and Ivor... He launches me up a cliff and I guide him through the sea of zombies on the way to the White Pumpkin's mansion... We raid the library of all the books about beacons, running and snickering as the librarian catches us...

On the other end, there's a cluster of Jesse.

We leap off the creeper-infested bridge, bracing for the river's impact... I miserably struggle to strike Ivor down with the unfair advantage of his speed potion, yet Jesse makes it look effortless... She launches herself from the glass, tackling me into the water to rid me of PAMA's enslavement... We cling onto each other's hands for dear life, first looking at the turquoise void and then into each other's eyes in fear as the admin zooms towards us ready to barrel Jesse out of my clutches...

Don't let go.

I'm met with the stone again when someone dares to occupy my alone-in-reminiscence time. I rise. The figure stands in front of me, close enough so I could reach out and touch her. It's one of the researchers who are fit enough to fight their way through the mines unharmed without armor.