Don't Listen

Traveling is Hard

Chapter 2: Traveling is Hard

It was a beautiful forest where we stopped for the night. I mean, it was like any other forest but the thing that made it awesome was that we actually get to stop for a while.

Tired, I choose a tree by the fire and immediately fell asleep. 

"You are mine!" A voice laughs.

"Who are you?" I call.

The response was a evil laugh that shook me to the bone. "You don't need to know. You're mine." It says.

"Never!"

A burning sensation ripples throughout my body. I let out an agonizing scream. "Let me take you or else your friends will suffer."

I think for a moment. "You and what army?"

The burning sensation hits again, this time at a more painful level. "Think on it."

I sit up with a gasp, hitting my head against Olivia's. "Ow!" She exclaims as she falls backwards some.

"Sorry."

"Are you okay Jesse?" Petra asks from the dying embers of the campfire.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," I mutter as I rub my stomach, expecting it to catch fire again.

They all buy it but Petra stares at me. I shrug and we hop on the horses. They had been waiting for me to wake so we could go.

The day was boring and painful, for with every bump I was reminded of the nightmare I had. Everyone else had found some way to entertain themselves but I wasn't in the mood.

As night rolled around and the monster began to groan, we were on a mountain surrounded by caves. Luckily, Olivia pulled out some wooden planks and covered the hole to cave, which also gave us some shelter for the night.

Once our beds were placed, they had fallen asleep, leaving me the only one awake.

"Jesse?" Petra whispers.

I roll over and find her staring at me. "What do you need, Petra?"

"Are you feeling alright? You haven't been yourself lately."

I sit up. "How so?"

She shrugs nervously. "You've just been a lot more angry, I guess. You didn't want to play 'guess that mob' while we traveled today. What's up?"

It was my turn to shrug. "I honestly have no idea."

She zones out and I mutter a goodnight. I close my eyes and sleep overtakes me.

I wake up in a dark room with flaming symbols on each wall. Two white eyes glare at me and the body is cloaked in darkness.

"Have you finally decided?" It asks.

"My answer is no," I yell.

"You answered incorrectly. You saying no is just another reason for me to take your body." He growls.

I was about to retort, when he grabs my armor, pulling me towards the soulless eyes he possessed. "Look, kid, you are nothing to me. I could crush you like a grape but someone else needs you."

I spit in his face. "Get out of my head!"

He laughs manically. "Oh, poor Jesse. I afraid I can't do that."

His hands pull tighter and I begin to choke. He lets go and I drop to the ground. "Why do you want me?" I ask, my voice weak.

His fingers lift up my chin so now I'm forced to face him. "Tsk. Tsk. Jesse, I thought you were better than that. Someone else wants you, but I get to play by my rules. He only needs you alive."

Something glints in the symbols' light. Scratch that, nine somethings, glitter evilly. "How about some fun?" He asks mockingly.

Chains pull my body into the air and he laughs. "You are very pretty. Now it's time to make you pay!"

=•=

I wake up to Jesse's groans. They were soft but you could see the worry lined in his face. I get up a shake his shoulder, hoping that he'd get up. He didn't. "...answer...no..." He mumbles, turning over.

His worry turns to panic. "Get out of my head," he says louder.

Olivia wakes up along with Lukas. "What wrong with him?" She asks.

"I don't know."

Suddenly, he appears to have stopped breathing. "Jesse!" I scream.

He begins to breathe again but tears now watered his face. "Why...me?" He mutters again.

We look at each other. It was silent. Too silent.

Jesse lets out a piercing scream that even wakes Axel up. "Jesse? Buddy? Are you okay?" He asks his unconscious friend.

When he removes his hands, the gloves he wears are now stained red. "Olivia! Remove his chest plate ." I order.

"But Petra-"

"Do it!"

She complies and once it's removed, I see 9 slashes etched deep into his skin. Blood was everywhere.

Jesse screams again and I watch as another 9 slashes slowly scrape their way across his back. All I could do was hope that he'd wake up soon.

=•=

"The boy is faltering, master." The shadow's creation reports.

The man smiles in the dark room. "Well done. How much longer before we can destroy them all?"

"Not much. No less than a couple more nights."

"Good. Let's release the Ocelots and get this plan done with. I want my fame back!"

The white eyed man bows. "Yes, master. The plan will soon be underway."

He presses a lever and a trap door opens, revealing three scared gang members. "W-Who are you?" The green eyed leader asks.

The shadow clicks another lever and it opens a tunnel. "Hurry! Escape! I'll hold them off!" He yelled at them, pretending to help.

They hurry off and he closed the door. "Do you swear on your life that you will get this done?" He asks.

The creation nods. "I swear on my existence that your plan will work."

"Or my name isn't Herobrine."