Hardcore Survival (A Minecraft Story)

Burn

[Aria's POV]

It took a while, maybe an hour, and we were lucky to not have any mobs come by. Mobius had regained some strength, and Anthony was nearly at a hundred percent. Alexa was most likely the only one of us that was still mostly unaffected now, despite being a penguin and all. I could still barely stand without feeling slightly dizzy, but we couldn't wait any longer. I could feel my arm tingling, which meant we were taking too long and they would find us soon.

Slowly, I start to stand. It's a struggle, but I manage to hold my own on my two feet. I push against the wall and hold myself up. "We need to keep moving." Alexa turns to me and rushes over. "Aria-" I shake my head. "Help Anthony up. We need to move. The sooner we get a few blaze rods, the sooner we can get out of here." She gives me a look but turns to help Anthony up. He seems to have fully recovered from the wither effects, but he was still drained. I mean, who wouldn't be? Wither slowly drains you of heart, which means it is killing you from the inside out. I couldn't imagine what that felt like.

Well, I kind of could.

Mobius stands as well and joins us. Alexa still gives me a certain look, but I shake my head. "Anthony? You up for this?" As expected, he nods his head. "Yeah, I'm good. Let's go." He attempts a smile, and I return the attempt as well. Alexa obviously doesn't buy it, but we don't have a choice right now. Slowly, I turn and begin to take the lead. I don't hesitate to take my sword out as we carefully begin roaming the halls of the fortress. In the first corridor we encounter, I motion for everyone to stop. Pressing up against the wall, I barely peek around the corner and find two skeletons facing each other. They were speaking to each other, and I try to focus on their speech.

'You honestly believe they could do it?'

'Maybe. That one girl... the one they call the leader. She's half enderman. If she figures it out, they might make it.'

'I doubt it, still. You saw the toll it took on her when she entered here when the enderman provoked her.'

'Still... she's strong. His majesty doesn't want them to succeed, and you know why.'

'Yeah, I know... But still... I wouldn't wish this life on anyone.'

'Hey... look to the bright side... we can't really die! We respawn now!'

I shake my head and turn to the others. I give them a signal to stay put and turn back towards the corridor. I take a deep breath. I feel the eye in my head heat up, and I stifle a hiss. I had to control it, or this wouldn't work. Cautiously I step out, sheathing my sword and raising my hands slightly. I need answers, and these two skeletons seem to have them. I feel my vocals shift as I speak. 

'Hey.'

The two skeletons turn to look at me in shock, and I feel pain seep into me as I allow the ender-half of me to speak. I keep my face straight, despite the shock I can see from my friends out of the corner of my eye. I stare at the skeletons, who still seemed to be in shock. 'Listen, I know this... is unpleasant... and I don't... really know what's going on.' Taking a deep breath, I step forward again. However, one of the two raises their sword threateningly. I stop moving. 'Please... All I want... is to know what... is going on. What really is... going on.' 

I keep my hands away from the sword on my back, but I hold my ground. The pain I was feeling was growing, but this was my only chance to get answers. As the more dominant skeleton moves towards me once more, I see Anthony and Alexa reach for their weapons. I couldn't let this escalate anymore, so I stutter out the only thing I know.