Hunter

DerLorde froze.

He knew that this was a pathway that could’ve happened, had seen many play out in front of him as they walked down the trail, but he didn’t think that this was the one that would play out in front of him. He didn’t make a sound, watching as Avery tilted his head at him, a slight noise escaping his lips in a questioning tone.

He should leave, go back to the mine and hide.

Keep the King hidden, not to let anyone else see It.

But there was Avery, sweet, kind Avery who couldn’t see. Who trusted DerLorde to get him out of the mine. Who was currently offering him a seat in his house to eat dinner.

“Der? Are you still there?” Avery’s voice broke DerLorde out of his trance and silenced the voices that had started to swirl around his head.

Right, he had to answer.

“I am still here. Yes, I would like to join you.”

What did he just say?

Avery’s face split into a blinding grin and he turned towards the door, only to walk into the doorframe. Pulling back, Avery rubbed his forehead before walking into the house without hitting anything else. DerLorde followed after, making sure to shut the door behind him securely, and watched Avery as he putted around the place. Not once did Avery walk into anything, moving around objects with ease and mumbling to himself about what to make and how he would without seeing.

DerLorde could only watch, eyes following carefully, barely making a sound as to not disturb the peace that had settled over them. Something about this tugged at his chest, a faint memory of sorts stretching out in front of him. It wasn’t his own, but it was. He could feel the warmth and love, but it seemed so far away.

Was it his?

“Der! Could you come help me light the furnace please? It’s all loaded, just don’t trust myself with an open flame currently.” Avery’s voice snapped him out of his trance, and slowly DerLorde turned to face Avery.

Why did it feel like he was moving in molasses?

DerLorde had started walking before he realised what he was doing, and before he knew it, he was in front of Avery, hand outstretched waiting for the box of matches that was gripped tightly in the slime's hand.

Avery carefully reached his hand out and once he felt Der in front of him, he happily put the box of matches into this hand.

On instinct, Der moved over to the furnace and lit the match, watching as the flames took hold of the kindling and a steady heat eased its way up and out; it felt alive, and Der no longer felt cold.

When did he start feeling cold?

Was it something that he always felt? Or was it something that has happened since the Crossroads?

Shaking his head, DerLorde stood up and moved silently to the side, letting Avery take his place back in the kitchen while he watched.

”If you want to have a look around, you can. It’s not much, but better than just standing there.” Avery offered, tilting his head slightly towards the door in an offer for him to be able to do something. “If I need help, I will give you a call, okay?”

”Okay, thank you.” DerLorde walked off and out of the kitchen, having a look around the small living area. Avery was right in that there wasn’t much, but it was cozy. There was a small sofa near the centre of the room, a cream coloured rug slotted underneath, with a coffee table placed in front that had a small vase of wildflowers that DerLorde had spotted on the trail here. To the left of the sofa was a couple of dark oak shelves on the wall with some books and pictures lined up, a little cluster of gems also sat at the end as a sort of book holder. Walking closer, Der carefully picked up one of the framed pictures and saw that it was a younger Avery with (who he assumed) his mum; this close, Der could see the Blaze in her, the way her eyes glowed that golden hue and the flecks of dust on her cheeks. He could also see the Magma too, the way her skin had ‘cracks’, the gentle pulsing of what looked like lava running under her skin. She was pretty, he could admit that, and something about the picture made warmth bloom in his chest at how happy both looked at the camera. Putting it back down, DerLorde looked to his right and saw a staircase leading upstairs and debated on if he should look around more.

On the one hand, Avery said he could look.

On the other, his mind supplied flashes of what upstairs looked like without evening moving.

He didn’t like that, that his mind could show him without even looking; like they were memories that he had stolen.

So Der shook his head and made his way up the stairs; noting the climbing ivy which had small white flowers blooming, it was carefully wrapped around the beams of the banister, bringing in a sense of the wilderness into the cabin. The upstairs was split into different sections, more closed off areas compared to the open plan of downstairs. The first door DerLorde opened led to a small wash room, a tub was tucked away into the corner of the room with a sink and toilet on the other side. Stepping back out, Der walked down the hall a bit and came to two doors, one on either side of him. On instinct, he reached for the left before stopping short.

His heart started to jack rabbit in his chest.

He could feel it vibrating his chest piece and every nerve shouted.

Don’t go left.

It’s not safe.

Go right.

Taking a deep breath in, DerLorde moved his hand back to his side and made an effort to face the other door; ignoring the fear that was still worming its way through his chest. Opening the door led to a bedroom, there wasn’t much in there apart from a double bed pressed to the wall with a small cabinet either side. Plain sheets decorated the frame with a small red carpet underneath it all. A spare room then. That must mean the other room belonged to Avery.

It is safe.

It’s Avery.

”Der! Dinner is ready!” Avery’s voice carried up the stairs, a reprieve from the voices that had started to swirl in his head again.

Making his way down the stairs again, DerLorde noticed that Avery had managed to place two bowls of what seemed to be stew and bread onto the table at the sofa; said slime sitting there waiting, a small smile on his face.

”I hope you like stew, it’s a simple one, after today, I thought it would be best in case we’re still unsettled.”

“Thank you Avery, that is most kind.” DerLorde sat down next to Avery and lifted the bowl onto his lap. He looked over at Avery and watched him as he lifted his own bowl, carefully blowing on the food before taking a sip. Right, Avery still had the blindfold on.

”Would you like assistance Avery?”

”Oh! Uh, no thank you. Not the first time I have had to eat without cutlery.” Avery chuckled as a faint glow over took his features, seeming to be embarrassed at being caught eating straight from the bowl. Looking back at his own bowl, Der took off his helmet and raised the bowl to his lips; if he cannot help Avery with eating, then he shall also drink the stew to show a sense of camaraderie.

They ate in silence, only being broken by the occasional slurp or hum.

The food was good, DerLorde could admit that. He was glad he took Avery’s offer on dinner.

When was the last time he had a meal?

How long was he in the Mine for?

Eventually with dinner eaten, hunger satiated and belly’s full, DerLorde took the dishes over to the sink and started washing them as a gesture of thanks. Avery had wandered over at some point and was leaning on the side, humming lightly as he looked out the window. Der snuck a glance at Avery and felt a pang of guilt hit out of nowhere.

He had to get the blindfold off, it wasn’t fair to Avery to not be able to see his own home again.

”Avery, we should try to see if your vision has restored, it has now been several hours since we left; it should be fine.” DerLorde watched as Avery straightened and the humming ceased. He didn’t need to have infinite knowledge whirling in his head to know that Avery was afraid.

”Yeah, uh, okay. Yeah, why not.”

”We should go back to the sofa, somewhere soft to sit in case.” The two made their way back and DerLorde could feel both of their tensions rising. It would be fine.

Had to be.

He owed it to Avery.

As they sat, Avery was fidgeting, hands rubbing up and down his legs, foot bouncing, body shaking.

He was scared.

And DerLorde wanted that to stop, Avery shouldn’t be scared, it didn’t suit him.

”Okay, we’ll remove it. Keep your eyes closed at first and slowly open them. With being covered for so long, everything will be extremely bright at first, you’ll need to let them adjust.” DerLorde moved his arms slowly, letting Avery take deep breaths as he reached up and placed them just behind the slimes head.

With a shaky nod, Avery finally stilled and let DerLorde remove the blindfold.

Avery did as he was told and his eyes were shut tight, and Der had to resist the urge to rub his thumb over his brow to smooth out the wrinkles that had formed.

Slowly, carefully, Avery opened his eyes.

Even in DerLorde’s infinite knowledge, he was not prepared for the shock of green and brown that were Avery’s pupils. He could feel his face start to flush and he was extremely glad that he put his helmet back on.

He watched as Avery looked him over, watched as Avery smiled at him, watched as Avery suddenly grabbed his head and cried out, watched as Avery bowed over, head essentially resting in DerLorde’s lap.

DerLorde grabbed Avery’s shoulders and held him, grabbed the blindfold and wrapped around his head again, grabbed his cloak and wrapped it tightly around Avery, hoping the weight would help.

And then he sat there.

The walk home was interesting to say the least…

Avery was leading the way home (well he thought it was the way home) with DerLorde alerting him to any obstacles in their way.

Other than that, they didn’t really talk. Avery didn’t do well with the quiet, he was always one to fill silence; silence was something not unnatural, but after growing up in a house that was always bustling, always moving, even when everyone was asleep, silence felt weird to him. So with that thought in mind, Avery spun around to face Der and started to walk backwards.

”So mister I can read minds, tell me about yourself.” Avery moved his hands so they were behind his head as he walked, trying to show an air of nonchalance despite the last gods knows hour many hours.

”I have already told you, I cannot read minds. But I shall humor you, what do you want to ask- careful, rock behind you.” Der reached his hand out to help guide Avery around it and also turn him around so he could at least see some more ground better.

”Well, you said you know pretty much everything, yeah?” Avery heard a sort of stilted hum from behind him. “How did you come to possess that knowledge? I was curious in the Mine, but it didn’t feel like the right time to bring it up.”

”Straight to the point then. Okay, the Thing that tried to get you to it? I didn’t have anyone to help me. So I kept listening, followed It’s voice and went through the gates.” Avery heard DerLorde stop, so he turned around again and could faintly see that DerLorde had wrapped his arms around himself. He seemed so small, and Avery was unsure on how to comfort a person that you’ve only known for not even a day. So despite his heart telling him to go over and hold Der, he listened to his brain and stayed still, letting DerLorde sort himself out.

”I am still unsure on what I saw, but He was large; filling every crevice of the room, there was so much yellow. But the pain… my head felt like it was being torn open, then stitched back together, only for it to happen again and again and again.

”I think I blacked out at some point, because next thing I knew, I was on the ground, sore and cold; but I was outside of the gates with one thought on my mind.” DerLorde slowly stood tall again and turned to face Avery.

”I had to stop you from turning left. But I failed. I didn’t warn you in time; I thought I had more time, time to find you and stop you from getting further. I am sorry Avery.” His voice went quiet and he turned his head to the side; Avery couldn’t help but reach out to place a hand on Der’s arm, ignoring the flinch he felt.

”You didn’t fail me, you helped me. Without you, I’d probably still be down there lost and dazed, maybe even dead.” Avery tilted his head upwards to try and catch DerLorde’s eyes, and smiled when he saw his helmet look down at Avery.

”You got me away from the gate, you put the blindfold on, you helped when those voices chased us, you got us out of the Mine, Hell you’re helping me go back home. You helped me DerLorde, you did not fail me.” Avery gently squeezed DerLorde’s arm the best he could with the armour on and let his arm fall again, before turning around and walking forward again. The mood had shifted and felt more somber, but Avery still didn’t want the silence.

He was unsure on how to break the silence though.

What DerLorde had told him felt unreal, but at the same time, Avery could remember the flicker of yellow he saw before DerLorde had grabbed him.

So they walked in silence, as much as Avery disliked it, but the air was heavy now and it felt wrong to disturb it.

”You have more questions you wish to ask.” DerLorde’s voice broke through the silence, and Avery did not jump thank you very much.

“I do, but it doesn’t feel right to ask…”

”Ask, it will help pass the time until we reach your home.” Der’s voice seemed to lighten a bit and Avery felt himself feel lighter at the tone shift, so he let his mind think of a more lighter topic to ask.

”Your armour, I think it’s gold as it looks orange with the blindfold on; but what does it look like? Is it fully gold or do you have any other metals forged into it? Do you have any enchantments on it? Do you-“ Avery cut himself off with a yelp as he tripped over a tree root neither him or Der had saw. Landing with a thud, Avery laid on his back dazed, staring up at the leaves of the trees.

Ow, that hurt.

”You okay Avery? Sorry, I didn’t see the root, otherwise I would’ve warned you.” DerLorde appeared in Avery’s view, looking down at the slime on the floor. Avery held a hand up and Der grabbed it, pulling him up with ease. Avery stood still for a second to gain his bearings and gave a thumbs up to Der before setting off in the right direction again.

”To answer your earlier questions; yes it is gold, its imbued with Netherite to help its tensile strength as gold is a weak metal but due to this gold being mined from the Nether, it has a higher melting point which makes it better for deeper mining due to the higher chance of stumbling across lava lakes.

”As for enchantments, I do not have any. I am… wary of items imbued with magic but I have considered it before, I am not sure what to have done though as I know that there are different enchantments that can benefit the user.”

Avery nodded, taking note on how Der’s voice lightened when he spoke about the properties of his armour, as if he was proud of it.

”Did you make it? You seem to be very proud of it.”

”I did, it was a project of mine when I was younger, and it is something that I have been adjusting as I got older.” If Avery could see clearly, he would see that DerLorde was smiling underneath his helmet.

A peaceful quiet this time enveloped them and Avery felt okay letting the quiet sit for once, DerLorde had allowed him to blabber on and Avery felt seen; most would tell him that he spoke too much and too quickly, would tell him to be quiet, that the quiet was nice and he should stop talking now. But DerLorde encouraged him to ask questions and gave proper answers to them, not a shrug or a one worded answer.

Avery felt happy.

”You are glowing brighter, you are happy.” DerLorde sounded curious but satisfied. Avery forgot about his glow, after everything that happened it didn’t seem like a point of focus.

”Yeah, yeah. I am feeling better, so my glow with shine brighter. Would you like to ask a question?” Avery tilted his head to the side, very glad that he was facing forward so Der couldn’t see the pink hue his cheeks had taken on.

”I do not need to, I know most things.”

”Yeah, well you said most things, ask something that you don’t know.”

DerLorde went quiet for a bit, trying to think of a question where his brain did not already fill in the answer. Avery let him ponder, meanwhile he could hear his sheep bleating in the distance and Avery felt a sense of peace wash through him at the prospect that they were almost home.

He was so going to flop straight on his bed and sleep for like three days, screw the bath, sleep felt way more enticing right now.

”Your glow, how does it work?”

”Oh, I ate a tonne of glow lichen and glow berries when I was younger.”

Avery heard nothing behind him and did his best not to snort as he imagined Der’s confused face.

”Ah I’m messing with ya… kind of. I did eat a tonne of those when I was younger, but the glow is to do with my ma. She is Netherborne, my dad met her while exploring one day; rest was history. Ma is a real firecracker, never a dull moment when she was around.” Avery chuckled at the memories of his mother dancing around the kitchen with his dad, his siblings weaving around them, laughing and shouting with joy.

”Ma is a Blaze and Magma, a ferocious combo but the most protective of all. So I got my glow from her, I’m the only one of my siblings that got a glow this bright though, so I was dubbed her ‘Firefly’.”

“She sounds like a wonderful person.”

Avery smiled and nodded, she was. He would need to visit soon and say hello.

Soon the house came into view and Avery let his shoulders drop.

He was home.

Away from the mine.

Away from whatever was down there.

Away from danger.

He made his way to the front door and fished around his pockets for his key, very glad that it didn’t fall out at any point.

Unlocking the door, Avery turned around and looked at DerLorde.

He doesn’t know where he is going.

He doesn’t remember how he got down to the Crossroad, so the way back up is just as hazy.

The Stranger still hasn’t said their name, but they also haven’t let go of Avery’ hand yet; a steady grounding presence.

Avery couldn’t tell how long he had been down under ground, or how long they had been walking for.

The Stranger stopped and Avery almost walked into the side of them; still unbalanced and disorientated from having the blindfold on his face.

“Uhh… sir? What's happening?” Avery was unsure, he was randomly trusting this person and now they had stopped, hadn’t made a sound. He felt a finger placed on his lips and felt the ghost of an exhale spread over his face. Avery could hear shifting in front of him before he felt the Stranger start shaking. Rough hands grabbed his own and dragged him somewhere quickly. Avery stumbled after, trying to get some protests out but his voice had left him again. As they kept moving, Avery could hear it.

Rushing wind.

Wailing voices.

It was coming closer

And closer.

It was almost at them now.

What was happening?

Make the screaming stop.

Too loud.

Too loUD!

TOO LOUD!

TOO-

Hands clamped over his ears and Avery shoved his face into the Strangers chest, breathing heavily, scared. What was that? Why was it chasing them? Where were they? Are they safe now? Too many questions raced around his head, making the faint headache rage to life again. He daren’t move from his position. He couldn’t anyway, the hands were still over his ears, keeping him in place against the Stranger.

He doesn’t know how long they stayed like that for, eventually though, the Stranger slowly removed their hands from Avery's head, but they didn’t push Avery away yet, letting him get his bearings again. Avery felt his breathing slow again and carefully pushed himself away, dutifully ignoring the slight heat in his cheeks as he realised how he essentially was hugging the Stranger.

“What was that?” Avery questioned, looking around the best he could with the cloth still.

“I’m not sure, but they like to give chase when they find you. I have found that it is best to hide and wait it out. They are gone now, but I don’t know for how long, so we need to get moving again.” With that, the Stranger grabbed Avery’s hand and started moving again. Avery still didn’t know where they were going, but he did trust the Stranger (did he?) to help him get back to the surface; from there Avery knew the way home… sort of. The mine wasn’t far from Avery’s home, and it was a somewhat direct route, so he could figure it out even with the cloth still on. Hell, the sunlight may even help guide him because things would be far brighter than a cave system. In other words, he would figure it out.

The Stranger was quiet, and Avery could tell that they were tense.

“Hey, mister. Is everything okay? Well as okay as it can be? I don’t know if you could tell but,” Avery waved a hand over his eyes as he chuckled. “Still can’t see.” He heard a sort of breathy exhale that could be passed off as a laugh and he couldn’t help but smile at making the situation a bit lighter (he hoped he had anyway).

“Sorry, yes, currently everything is okay. Just a bit on edge, I do not trust this place.” Avery could hear the tiredness in the Strangers voice but also a sense of fury? Although Avery could not pinpoint why.

“Understandable. Also, what can I call you? Because I cannot keep calling you ‘Stranger’ in my head, feel’s weird dude.”

“Oh, uh, you may call me DerLorde.”

“DerLorde? As in a title? Odd, but okay, your name Der. Can I call you that, Der?” Avery felt a slight tug on his hand and he was pulled forward closer to the Stran- to DerLorde.

“That is fine Avery, I want you to stay here as I need to do a little bit of mining to get us out of here, okay?” Der asked, letting go of Avery’s hand and grabbing the pickaxe that Avery was shocked he still had on him.

“Yeah, cool- wait, how do you know my name? I’ve never met you before.” Avery felt Der tense for a second before a small sigh left his lips and both of his hands were on Avery’s shoulders.

“There are a lot of things I will explain to you, but a lot that will come with time. For now, know that the thing you saw briefly cursed me with a lot of knowledge. Past, present and future. There are some things I do not know, but I know a lot of things about nearly everything.” Avery stood there stunned, not quite believing what DerLorde was saying. That can’t be true, nothing or no one can know nearly everything. That was just some insane crazy talk.

“That can’t be true. So what, you can, like, read minds?”

“No, I cannot read mind’s Avery. I already know this knowledge.”

“Sure sure, what number am I thinking of then?”

“I told you I cannot read minds. But I can tell you that you moved here to get away from the chaoticness of Central; that you prefer cold chocolate milk to hot, but like the way the heat of a hot chocolate warms you from the inside out. I can go on if you wish.” Okay, so Avery was starting to believe Der a bit more but was not fully convinced still; it was a lot to adjust to, but this being, Der, had saved him twice now, so Avery felt like it was only fair to try and understand what Der had told him.

“Okay, still don’t fully believe you, but you know my name and somehow two facts about me, so I’ll try to understand it if I can.”

“Thank you, I know that you will eventually, but take your time, it is a lot to process. Now, I am going to step away and get us through this wall. I apologise if this is loud.”

And with that, Avery heard Der walk away and start the tedious task of mining through a Gods knows how thick of a wall so they can leave.

Avery sat down on the ground in the direction that Der was mining in and watched what he could.

His eyes had adjusted quite well to the red over his vision and he could now make out a lot shape wise, so he could watch Der bring the pickaxe up over his head and back down onto the stone in front of him. Avery was strong, participating in tournaments would do that to anyone, but being part slime meant that certain strengths he lacked. Mining was one of them, he could do a little bit of mining here and there for ores, but anything tedious like carving through a wall to escape somewhere was out of his scope. He sat there and watched the repetitive motion and wondered what DerLorde actually looked like. Avery knew that he was wearing armour, he could feel the smoothness and coldness whenever they brushed sides, and through the cloth it looked orange-ish, so he assumed it was most likely made of gold; but he wondered what he looked like under the armour. Was he human? A hybrid like Avery? Was he young or old (Avery lent towards old, but not that much older than what Avery was)? Maybe once he could take the cloth off from over his eyes, he would be able to get the answers he wanted to know.

The sound of metal hitting stone and stone crumbling to the ground echoed in the cave system, a steady thrum that was not helping Avery’s headache, but a welcome distraction to whatever the hell happened earlier on. Avery thought back to that, the screams in his head, whatever the hell he saw briefly, the pure fear that coursed through his body.

The whispers in the tunnel.

The wailing voices that chased him and DerLorde.

What was this place? Maybe Der could tell him when they left?

”Avery, we can go now, the wall is gone.” Der’s voice echoed out and Avery looked in his general direction. When did the mining stop? Was he really that lost in his own head? Carefully Avery stood up and took a step towards Der’s figure.

”Okay then, lead the way my good sir!” Avery let out an exaggerated bow and couldn’t help the smile that lit his face when he heard a slight snort from Der. The man grabbed hold of Avery’s lower arm again and guided him through the hole he had made.

When they got through something had shifted.

The air felt calmer, less stilted.

Avery felt like he could breathe again and his headache had seemed to dissipate the moment they walked through.

It was nice.

He didn’t feel trapped anymore.

Der kept walking and taking Avery somewhere, he hoped out but still Avery could not remember how he got to where they were. He knew that there were stairs that led down to the ‘proper’ entrance of the mineshaft, but that was it. Everything after that seemed to be a distant hazy blur in his mind, up to the gate and Der grabbing him.

Oh gods, has he lost his memories? No, he remembered everything up to that point and everything after, just not… during. He shook his head, he can try and figure it out later. Get out of the mine, get home, see if he can take the blindfold off, have a nice hot bath and sleep for like three days.

Yeah, good plan Avery.

He nodded to himself, pleased with his plan of action, then almost fell up a step.

”Scheiße. Sorry, I forgot to warn you where the step was.” He felt hands grab both of his and Der carefully pulled him forward to the next stair. Slowly the two made it up the staircase and Avery could feel fresh air blowing towards them, it was warm and comforting; like a gentle hug wrapped around them. Much better than that of the mine.

Avery let out a sigh and took an unguided step forward, feeling the soft grass brush against his legs.

What he didn’t feel was Der next to him.

Turning back towards the mine (at least he think he did), Avery cocked his head towards Der.

”You coming or what? I can’t quite make it home with this over my eyes.”

”You.. you wish for me to still assist you?” His voice was low, guarded, lost.

”Well duh. Plus, I would like to repay you for helping me down there, so a nice home cooked meal seems like a good idea in my opinion,” Avery shrugged his shoulders, but in his mind he was pleading for Der to come with, he didn’t like th idea of Der going back into the mines by himself with whatever was down there.

Footsteps drew closer and Avery felt his shoulders relax.

”I will guide you home then, I hope you do know where you live.”

He doesn’t know how he got here.

Avery stood there, looking down at each path, contemplating which way to go.

The mine wasn’t one Avery knew about, he’d only been living in the area for a couple of months; but there was nothing on his map about this mine, he’d even ask one of the locals in the nearby village about it and they just looked at him like he was talking gibberish, so he took that as a no.

So the only logical thing he could do was go and investigate it.

Now, he never claimed that he was the smartest being alive, but he took precautions.

He made sure that his pack had enough food and water, as well as some kindling to light anything on the way; he also left a note on his front door saying where he was going, the location noted as well. As an extra precaution, he also told the cartographer in the village as well so it could be noted on the village's map and made them aware in case he didn’t touch in within a week for his normal restock.

So now he was here.

Looking right, it seemed that it was well lit and stretched far, but small pockets where Avery assumed ores once were had been mined out, so it was possible that down that way, there wasn’t much for Avery to take.

Looking left, the tunnel slowly descended into darkness, a couple of torches dotted down the way, but not enough to stop the darkness encroaching towards where Avery was standing. But there was something about it, it felt like something was calling to Avery, beckoning him to go deeper and come see what lay beneath.

Looking towards his right again, Avery stood still and debated.

Left or right.

Right or left.

Go back.

No.

Right or left.

Left or right.

Left or…

Avery grabbed an unlit torch from the wall just to the side of him, lit it via another torch then turned left, staring down the black abyss before him.

He could’ve sworn that he heard something whisper his name, but he played it off as a trick of his imagination.

Walking further down, he was glad he thought to grab a torch; it felt darker than it should’ve been for a tunnel.

The stone felt too smooth, too neat, too unnatural.

He could no longer hear the dripping of water from the stalactites, or his footsteps. It was like the blackness swallowed sound; it felt like he couldn’t even hear his own thoughts anymore.

The silence felt suffocating, like it was draining all sound from existence.

“Come little sheep, you are close.”

Avery stilled for a moment.

Had he made that voice up in his head? There was no one down here… that he knew of anyway; but that voice, it sounded like a whisper, like it was right next to him, but turning around showed that no one was there.

Avery kept walking.

There was no point stopping now, not when he felt like he was close.

Close to what though?

He wasn’t sure, but Avery knew… no he could feel that he was close.

As he kept moving, the tunnel slowly started to brighten up, specks of gold nuggets sprinkled in the floor.

Specks turned to gems.

Gems to ingots.

Ingots into solid blocks.

Eventually Avery didn’t need the torch anymore, the gold was lighting up the tunnel in a bright, reflective light show.

Everywhere he looked, gold littered all the surfaces. Stone could be seen occasionally mixed in, iron as well.

”Around the corner, and I will show you what you seek.”

The voice was louder now, closer, yet Avery still could not see what was there.

But he listened.

He followed what the voice said and stepped around the corner.

And he froze.

A large ornate golden gate stood in front of him.

Floor to ceiling, the doors seemed to fill the room.

How was this here?

Who made this?

Why did they make it?

It felt like it was breathing. A chill could be felt coming through the open doors, almost not there but all encompassing at the same time.

”You are almost there, little lamb, just walk through the doors.”

Avery stepped forward.

He wasn’t in control anymore.

His body was on autopilot.

He placed a hand on the gate, it felt warm to the touch, but Avery could feel the heat seeping from his hand.

Was the gate taking it from him?

No, gates can’t do that.

Avery took another step and looked around the door.

”AVERY, NO!”

Hands pulled him back and covered his eyes, dragging him back around the door and further away from the whispering that seemed to fill every corner of his mind.

The hands that were on him were cold and rough, he thought he could even taste blood on his mouth from where the person grabbed him.

He should struggle.

Why isn’t he struggling?

Why can he still see it?

He can hear it still.

He wants to go back.

He shouldn’t go back.

Why can’t he see?

He was breathing harshly now, his lungs hurt, he needs to breathe.

Breathe.

BreatHE.

BREATHE.

It was dark again.

There was no more gold.

There was no more voices.

There were no more hands on his face.

Where was he?

There.

Footsteps.

Heavy, noticeable footsteps.

Breathing.

He can do that.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In-

“Avery, can you hear me now?” A voice asked carefully, deep and gentle, a balm on his racing mind. Avery gulped and nodded, he should open his eyes. When did he shut them? He doesn’t want to open his eyes, he will see again.

When did he sit down?

Hands were on him again. But they were gentler this time, guiding, not yanking, not pulling or dragging; they were gently holding his face, keeping him still while his heart calmed down.

”That’s good, I thought I did not get to you in time. But you saw though, didn’t you? Him.” The voice wasn’t demanding, it wasn’t angry. It sounded tired, sounded defeated.

Avery still couldn’t get the words out. Why couldn’t he talk? He always had something to say. So why now could he not?

”Hey, deep breaths. It will be okay.” Gentle hands pulled him forward carefully, until Avery felt something cool on his face; something smooth and made. He could hear a faint heartbeat, something real.

”I need to ask you a few questions, nod or shake your head, okay?” Avery nodded.

”Good, do you know who you are?” Of course he did, he was… he was… he was Avery, yeah. His name was Avery, he was a slime hybrid. So he nodded.

”Okay, that’s a start.” The voice was still gentle, still calm and grounding.

”Next, do you know who I am?” No, Avery didn’t, he had never heard this persons voice before.

“Good, last question, and I want you to think hard about this before you answer.” Avery stilled, something about the way the Stranger said that caused an innate panic to settle in his bones.

”Who did you see?”

Avery stopped.

Who did he see? He saw something, that was for sure, but… Avery didn’t know who it was.

He shook his head, he didn’t know.

He felt the Stranger drop a bit, and a sigh left their mouth.

”Okay, that’s good. You didn’t see Him long enough then. This time was right.”

Avery had a tonne of questions and yet nothing seemed to leave his mouth.

He let his head drop and felt the hands slowly leave his person.

Wait no, come back.

Please.

Don’t go.

The hands returned again, gentle yet firm on his shoulders this time.

”I am still here Avery. I am not leaving. You are safer now.” Safer? What did they mean by safer?

”I am going to move my hands, but I will still be here. I am going to wrap a cloth around your eyes and we will leave the Crossroads, okay?” Avery nodded. He felt the hands leave and swallowed down a lump in his throat that suddenly appeared. He felt the Stranger shift and heard a rip of fabric.

What was the Stranger ripping?

Was that what was going over his eyes?

He felt it. It was soft and smelt like a bonfire on a breeze. It felt safe.

The Stranger carefully wrapped the cloth around his head and tied it securely over Avery’s head.

”You can open your eyes if you wish, it is safe.” The voice wasn’t demanding, it was patient. Like they had done this before.

Carefully Avery opened his eyes and at first he didn’t see much, but then slowly he saw red appear and a figure just beyond the red. He raised his arm and carefully leant forward to touch the Stranger.

The Stranger let out a huff of sorts but leant forward to meet Avery half way.

”It is good to see that your vision was not fully affected, but they will need to heal.” The Stranger helped Avery stand carefully, letting the Slime get used to his bearings before carefully guiding him somewhere.