MCSM: Shattered Souls [COMPLETED]

18- In Which I Relive a Suppressed Memory

I was frozen.

No. Not here. Anywhere but here. Not this memory. I couldn't handle this. 

Someone poked me in the side.

"Is she supposed to be a statue?" The words had to be from Jaq, though the voice wasn't registering in my paralyzed brain.

"Oh, shut up. This place is weird. Where are we?" This was probably Justin. Then a strong hand gripped my shoulder.

"Jesse? Are you alright? It's okay to be scared, but we need you right now."

I focused on Jandro's calm tone, bringing myself back to the present, and drew in a deep breath. "No. This...this didn't even cross my mind. I thought it would be something else, anything but this. I can't...I can't do this..." The words trailed off into nothingness.

Jandro still had his hand on my shoulder, anchoring me. "Where are we? What happened here?"

"We're in the Witherstorm. It's been almost two years since I've been here. I had finally stopped having nightmares, but now I'm back, and we have to fight it again, and-"

"Hey, shh. Calm down. Just tell me what we have to do." He ordered gently. I lifted my head up, examining the inside of the Storm. Memories came washing over me, a flood of nightmares nearly forgotten.

"There." I pointed to the Command Block, partially hidden in the nest of dormant tentacles. "We need to destroy that. Last time it took three strikes, but it was with a different sword, one specifically enchanted to destroy the Command Block. I don't...I don't know what's gonna happen with our weird swords."

"So we...just gotta destroy the block?" Jaq asked suspiciously.

I shook my head nervously. It was so, so bizarre being back there, especially since I already knew what would happen. "The tentacles will come to life and try to stop us, probably by strangulation. Those two things up there," I said, pointing to the two resting Witherstorm heads on opposite sides of the place, "will try trap us in tractor beams when they wake up. And eventually the whole Storm may shift and turn upside down, so we might have to climb up to get the last few hits."

Jaq was nodding, following along with where I pointed. "Okay. So basically like with the hydra- just don't do anything majorly dumb."

The Storm quaked, enough to make us stumble but not fall. I heard a soft squealing noise behind me and turned, feeling my heart shatter into pieces. 

There was my scared-looking past self, faded and shimmering like a mirage. And beside her...me...was Reuben, the dear little pig who'd lost his life on this very mission.

I found myself unable to catch my breath. I remembered how Jaq had looked when we first saw the memory castle- like someone had punched her in the gut. I knew exactly how she felt now.

It all hit me so hard in that moment, how long it had truly been since his death. In the few weeks after we'd defeated the Storm, I'd been such a wreck. I didn't think I'd be able to go on without him, without my closest companion by my side.

But I had. I'd kept going, kept living, kept adventuring, kept getting into trouble. Would he be proud that I'd done that, or sad that I'd left him behind?

The question slid inside my chest and wrapped itself around my heart, squeezing, constricting, preventing me from feeling anything other than pure heartbreak. 

I started to come back to my senses when I heard Justin ask, "Whoa, wait. You did this alone?"