The Crafters' Battle

four

Lee's POV
Upon arriving home, a heartbroken and terrified Sqaishey ran up the stairs to her and Stampy's room, sobbing all the while, and I sighed. "This is horrible. Why would Notch do this?" "He's gone mental, that's what!" Tom shrieked. He was extremely angry about everything that was gonna happen, and he wasn't in the best of moods.

"I agree, but we shouldn't really be upset right now. We need to worry about tell our families and praying that we win!" Stampy said with a slight frown. "And what if praying isn't enough? What if Team Crafted wins and we all lose our memories?!" Netty yelled angrily towards her brother. "Then we move on in that dungeon!" he yelled back. "Guys, let's not argue about this. We have more important things to worry about," Squid said calmly, but anyone could see the fear in his eyes.

"Squid's right. This isn't something we can simply argue over. We signed that stupid contract, just like they did; we have no other choice!" Amy defended with a sad tone. "This is total bull-crap! Why do we even hate these guys? Most of us didn't even know each other!" I asked, and everyone grew silent immediately. "So we hate these guys for no reason?" I gasped, and Stampy frowned towards me.

"Only Squid and I have really spoken to them, and it was only Adam and Ty. The others... I barely even know." "I don't even understand why we hate all of them if we've only spoken to two of them. He didn't explain it to me," Squid said. "Since when did you and Squid speak to Adam and Ty?" Amy questioned.

"Around a year or so ago. Squid and I were out at the shops to get food, and Adam and Ty were there as well. We decided to go out to lunch at that one sushi place at the edge of the village. While there, we got into an argument over something I can't even remember. I claimed that we had a rivalry now, and Adam agreed. Squid and Ty did as well, and we went our separate ways. That was the first time we'd seen them in public since," Stampy informed.

"And you just assumed that the others were just like them?!" Netty growled, and Stampy nodded. "Yes. Where else would they get it from?" "This is ridiculous! You can't just assume things about people you've never met! Did Squid or Ty have a say in it?" I asked, and Squid shook his head. "We just agreed silently. I didn't want to be in a rivalry against them; they seemed like nice people! We may barely know them, but you can't just do that without our consent, Stamps!" Squid screamed angrily towards his best friend.

"P-please don't argue..."

We all looked up at the same time to see Sqaishey at the top of the stairs, a solemn and saddened expression on her tear-stained face. "D-don't argue n-now, before i-it even begins. I-I hate this too, b-but arguing is simply p-pointless." Stampy then walked up the stairs and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. But Sqaishey barely hugged him in return, and as he pulled back, she narrowed her eyes towards him. "Don't think y-you're innocent just because I'm your g-girlfriend. I heard everything."

Stampy sighed. "Sqaishey, I'm so sorry-" "Sorry doesn't fix everything. It's about time you learned that. I may barely know them, but they're probably just as scared as we are. Just because you got into one pity little argument over something doesn't mean they're all bad." He didn't respond, and Sqaishey walked around him and down the stairs. "Let's just try and see how the others are. Did anyone speak to them at the breakfast?"

"I spoke to Ty. He allowed me to go in front of him when we were going to the breakfast. He seems like a very friendly person," Amy said with a happy smile. "I spoke to Mitch and Jerome both. I told them a joke to lighten the mood, and they both laughed and said it was funny. They seem friendly as well," Tom recalled. "I spoke to Ian. He seemed angry about something, and I asked him if he was alright. He said yes, but then we introduced ourselves. He seems really nice, and he's got a cool beard," Squid laughed.

"I even spoke to Jason and Quentin, I think their names are. I nearly tripped on someone, and Jason caught me before I fell in the floor. Then both him and Quentin asked if I was alright and made sure I didn't fall the rest of the time," Netty said. "See, Stampy? They're not all bad people, as much as you'd like them to be!" Sqaishey exclaimed with an angry frown.

"Yes, I understand that now! But until I speak to these people myself, without Notch around, I'll continue to believe what I believe!" he hissed. "You can't yell at your girlfriend like that!" I defended quickly. "And you can't tell me what to do!" he countered back. "I do what I want, alright? You can't stop me!" I retorted, feeling anger bubbling up inside me. "Oh, really? Then you can't stop me from doing this!"

He lunged forward with an angry yowl, and he tackled me to the ground while everyone else yelled in fright. I scratched at his face as Stampy clawed at me, and I punched him in the gut. He groaned in pain, and I shoved him off of me and pinned him to the ground by his upper paws, using my feet to keep his bottom paws to the floor.

"Wait until the Hunger Games to try and kill me, why don't you?!"

I narrowed my eyes at Stampy as he glared at me under my grip. "And I'll be waiting for you!" I growled. He squirmed under my grip at an attempt to get out, but I kept firm. "I might take up on that offer!" "Guys, please! Stop this!" Netty begged loudly, grabbing my waist and pulling me off of her brother. "This is uncalled for! Don't do this now, when we'll have to kill each other in a matter of days!" Squid yelled towards us, a look of shock and sadness on his face.

"He's the one who tackled me!" I defended loudly. "You shouldn't have told me what to do!" Stampy retorted. "That's enough! You're best friends; you can't be like this, not now, not ever!" Amy yelled angrily. "This is a better time than ever! We'll all most likely die anyways!" Stampy screamed, running up the stairs and slamming his bedroom door.

"He's overreacting! I haven't done anything to him, and yet he turns and does this!" I said with a frown, and Tom frowned. "You're just as bad as he is. You guys acting like this is totally bizarre!" "Look, I agree with Tom. You can't act like this!" Netty said with an angry tone. "I understand that! Stampy can't make assumptions about people he's never spoken to!" I argued.

"We get that. But you two can't be arguing at a time like this. We need to be as close as ever, in case the worst happens..." Amy said sadly. "Yeah. I'm not keen on killing anyone at all, but if it comes to me killing o-one of you... I-I'm so sorry," Sqaishey told us, quickly overcome by sobs once again. Netty wrapped her arms around her with tears in her eyes, rubbing her back soothingly.

"This is a disaster! Why would Notch, of all people, come up with something like this to solve our problem?" Tom questioned angrily, clenching his hands into fists. "I don't know. But I do know that we need to figure out... which of our family members we'll tell," Netty said to us with a frown. "We should get that done, and then we can relax or something, make amends... Say anything we might need to say," Squid mumbled, walking back up the stairs with his phone in hand. I sighed to myself.

We were a huge mess.