Virus (A Minecraft Story)

Chapter 12

Tash's POV

I reached out and managed to get a handhold on the cliff above me. It had looked easy to climb from far away, but it was actually freakishly steep. Instead of walking, we'd had to rock climb up the cliff-face. Ana was climbing above me, puffing slightly. Loca had simply shot up the cliff, after offering Ana a lift. Lyta was already the top, a flight rune carved into her skin helping her beat Loca. I'd stayed below, to catch Ana if she fell. "So," I said, stepping through a patch of flames, "How's things going with Loca?" She slipped, and I grabbed her foot. She righted herself and glared at me. "Lyta's been asking me that a lot lately." I looked innocent. "I was just asking." She muttered something under her breath and resumed climbing. She knocked a black rock off, which hit me in the head. "He's fine. And there's nothing going on between us; there never will, because it can never happen..." She scowled at the cliff like it had insulted her. "What do you mean by that?" I asked, glancing up at the top and hoping we were almost there. "Nothing." She snapped, and reached up to get another handhold. Her shift moved, baring her shoulder, and I caught a glimpse of that tattoo. I stared at it for a second, trying to remember where I'd seen it before. I shook it off and kept climbing, but an uneasy feeling persisted in my mind. Something to do with unearthly green eyes... Ana suddenly disappeared and I blinked, startled. "Up here, you IMIZ." Ana called, and I looked up. I hadn't realised how close we were to the top, and now Ana was standing on flat ground, holding out her hand to me. I took it, and she hauled me up with surprising strength. I staggered, my legs adjusting to solid ground after hours of climbing, and grabbed Ana's shoulder for support. She looked down at me as I looked up, and our eyes met. Fire erupted behind me, and it transformed her eyes, into something different... then understanding struck me like lightning, and I froze on the spot. "It was you." I whispered, staring at Ana. She raised her eyebrows at me. "What did you say?" "I said," I growled, hands curling into fists, "It was you! I didn't trip in the End and hit my head; I may be a klutz, but I know how to walk! I saw your tattoo, and you knocked me out! What the hell did you do to me?!" Ana backed away, looking confused. "What? No I didn't! You're just making things up!" I glared at her, my fingers starting to tingle. "Really? Then show me your shoulder." She stared at ū I don't have anything to prove to you!" I began to advance, furious. "Don't lie to me! I know it's there! Why do you even care? At least you weren't born with a freaking tattoo!" She stopped, confused. "You were born with it?" "Yeah, I was. So why do you care about yours?" "You haven't seen it." She snapped, still backing away. "You don't understand." I saw Lyta and Loca on the far side of where we were, waiting for us. "Why can't you just tell me?" I pleaded, stopping in my tracks, the tingling sensation fading. She looked at me. "Because you won't understand. You're too inexperienced. You don't know what we're dealing with." "Don't know what we're dealing with?"  I roared, hands coming up, palms out. "I know exactly what we're dealing with! You just think I'm stupid for not believing in things outside our normal lives, right? Well, guess what? I believe. I have for a long time. You never knew." Ana stood there, still as stone. Her eyes began to glow, and I felt dizzy. I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes, refusing to give in. I heard Ana hiss, and I opened my eyes again. "I thought you were my friend!" I screamed at her, watching my fingers start to turn red. "You tried to trick me! I don't know you anymore!" Ana took a step forward, trying to calm me down. Wrong move. My hands burst into flames, and a massive blast of fire shot towards her. Later, I would regret what I did, what I started. But at the time, all I felt was rage, betrayal, loss. Ana threw out her hands, as if she could hold back the tidal wave of fire. It enveloped her, and I heard Loca scream, saw Lyta drop to her knees, shocked. I kept the blast going, until the realisation of what I'd done hit me, and I withdrew it instantly, horrified at what I had done, knowing it was far too late. I put my face in my hands and sobbed. "Oh, god..." I had been so protective of my friends, unable to bear losing any of them, yet I was the one who had just killed my best friend; irony was cruel. I lifted my head as the smoke cleared, expecting to see a charred body or a pile of ashes. What I saw brought tears to my eyes. Ana was standing there, hands out, completely unharmed. The air around her was shimmering, tinged the bright green of jungle leaves. "Ana!" I cried, stumbling forwards. She looked a little stunned as I ran towards her, but I didn't care. I practically threw myself, hugging her tightly. "Ana, I'm so sorry, I don't know why I did it, oh my god..." I was babbling incoherently. Ana managed to pry me off her. "I'm fine, you IMIZ. Next time, though, try not to turn me into steak, huh?" I smiled, even as I cried. "We have a pretty solid friendship..." She laughed a little shakily. "Yup. Still don't know why you would freak out like that, though." I shrugged, reaching up to scratch my head. My fingers met something sticky, so I pulled it out. The small black rock that had hit me in the head was melted like clay in a furnace, but that wasn't the odd thing. There were red flecks inside it. I looked at Ana. "You don't think..." She took it off me, and nodded grimly. "Virus. We've had a few heated arguments, but I thought this one went a little too far. If he's tried to get us to kill each other, then he's noticed us, and he doesn't like what he sees." She threw the little rock into the lava below. I tapped her on the shoulder. "Not to interrupt this nice moment, but why would you knock me out because of a tattoo?" She looked at me, and even though she was just eighteen, I saw hundreds of years of secrets and sorrow in her eyes. "Maybe one day I can tell you, but right now, you can't know, or you'll die." Ana held her breath, probably expecting me to argue or get into another 'let's-barbecue-Ana' fight. I just rolled my eyes. "You should've told me that in the first place." She facepalmed. "Let's just go find Lyta and Loca." I followed her, relieved that we were once again on good terms. But still, I wondered why Ana had forgiven me so easily. We reached Loca and Lyta, and for a moment I thought they were hugging. Then Loca got thrown backwards by powerful blasts of water. He landed on his feet and clapped his hands. Lyta rose into the air, struggling as invisible bands of air tightened around her. "Hey!" I yelled, running forwards. "Cut it out!" Lyta was gasping for breath as Loca tightened his hands into fists, a vicious look on his face. I leapt between them, and blasted fire at Loca. His concentration wavered and Lyta fell to the ground, sucking in lungfuls of air. "Get out of the way!" He bellowed at me, grey eyes full of rage. I saw straightaway the black sludge on his shoulder. Ana grimaced like she was in pain, but I didn't ask. "Get it off him." She nodded mickingly. "Yes, my Pig." She ran at him, and I turned in time to get tackled by a very angry Lyta. For a kind, gentle priestess of water spirits, she could kick some serious butt. I twisted as I fell, pinning Lyta down by her shoulders. "Listen!" I yelled at her as she writhed beneath me like a snake. "It's not Loca's fault, it's Virus! He's driving us all insane!" "No! He went crazy and tried to kill me. He's a traitor, and he deserves to die!" She threw me off, scrambling to her feet and sprinting towards Loca. I gritted my teeth. "I didn't want to do this." I clicked my fingers, and fire flared between the two fighters. Lyta tried to blast water at the wall of flames encircling her, but the water simply died. I walked past her, towards Ana and Loca. She had taken the thing off, but Loca was still affected. "Please, Loca..." She said, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Listen to me..." Loca stared at her, fire reflected in his eyes. He looked like he was on the verge of attacking her; his hand twitched towards his pickaxes. Then he blinked, and said uncertainly, "Ana?" She hugged him tightly. "You idiot. You scared me for a minute." He shrugged. "I do that all the time." Lyta walked through my flames, orangle bubbles floating around her. "You made me use up my fire resistance potion." She grumbled. I ignored her. "We might want to get moving. Keep your eyes peeled for anything Virus-related." I looked over at the thin strip of netherrack that formed a bridge over a sea of lava. Even though I had fire powers, that much lava made me go cold, which was ironic. "So... you guys ready to cross Fiery Chasm?" They looked at me like I was crazy. "I'll take that as a no." I muttered, and began walking towards the unstable looking bridge. "I'll show you guys that it's fine." I called to them, and stopped just before the bridge, staring into the lava. I heard Lyta mutter something that sounded a lot like a prayer. I took a deep breath- and stepped onto the bridge. Nothing happened. I breathed a sigh of relief, and starting walking quickly, to get to the other side. There was a cracking sound, and I realised too late I'd walked straight into danger, relief giving me overconfidence. I was too far away to reach the other side. The lava turned as black as night, and I spun around, trying to run. The ground beneath me cracked, and the last thing I saw before I fell were my friends, racing towards me. I saw Lyta reach out, try to catch me. Our fingers touched, then I slid from her grasp, and the last thing I heard was a cry of despair as I fell to my death and to Virus, waiting with open arms.

Hey guys!
Wow, can't believe I made it to a hundred reads! I just want to thank all you guys for reading, I hope you're enjoying Virus so far. Also, if you like this story, check out Ender's Torment by firekillerflora. Keep reading, keep voting and try not to be an IMIZ.
Tash