E-404 | Dreamnotfound

Chapter Sixteen

Karl turned his attention towards the awful monster and watched as a hot, blazing fire sprang towards him, "Sapnap!"

"I've got you!" He yelled, noticing that his partner was put between a blaze and a wither skeleton. Not helping would be extremely dangerous considering the consequences of the withering effects. Running to his aid, Sapnap blocked the fire with his shield and left the two of them back to back.

"Be careful with the wither skeleton! Don't let it hit you."

As Sapnap worked on killing the fire creature, Karl carefully swung his sword before quickly changing to his shield for support. He was afraid. One wrong move and not only him, but also Sapnap, would be in serious trouble. His teeth hurt from grinding together in stress. The horrible sounds echoing from the skeleton as it received each blow only added to his nervousness.

After another hit from his netherite sword, Karl inflicted the final blow and plunged the weapon into the monster's chest. Taking a breath of relief, he watched as Sapnap was finishing his own challenge.

They weren't sure how long they'd been there, which shouldn't have been long considering they hadn't gotten a wither skeleton yet, but it had already felt like forever. The heat made them sluggish and sweat visibly glistened on their foreheads.

The surrounding area bled a deep red through the bricks and continued throughout the underworld. After spotting an accessible path to the large fortress square within the valley, they'd finally made it to their destination. The monsters were one problem, but the height was another. If they fell, the landing would be deadly.

"You didn't get hit, did you?" Sapnap asked with concern.

"No," Karl sighed, "I'm okay."

"I'm going to message Dream and see how far he is. The other paired groups haven't gotten a skull yet either."

"Do you think we'll have enough time to get out before they found us?" Karl asked, referring to The Evolved.

"We should be okay," Sapnap said, taking his helmet off to expose his dark brown hair.

The other placed his shield on the ground and allowed his stance to rest. He was sure that everything was going to be alright. He may have been doubtful, but he refused to think that someone would be harmed. When he thought of the friend group that had gone on this mission, he knew that they were all strong. They'd be able to get through the miserable environment if it meant surviving. It didn't matter if they were hesitant, nervous, or unsure of the possibilities of surviving because Karl knew they would. They had to.

"Are you ready to continue?"

"Yeah sure, the sooner we get those skulls the faster we can all get out of here."

Sapnap gave a nod for response and the two continued their adventure through the boxed hallways. The moment reminded Sapnap of an earlier time when he and Dream had first gone traveling through the nether. The two of them had been petrified, having only been around the age of sixteen. During their first part of the mission they were given, they were tasked with getting a specific type of wood. It just so happened to be pitted behind a nether fortress, making the duo cross it in order to retrieve the necessary materials.

And now, a couple of years after that first adventure, Sapnap could only think back to that moment. The nether still held the horror it used to. Even if the male had experienced it multiple times before, whether it was for netherite mining, resource gathering, or on patrols, fear was still struck within him at the thought of some new creature potentially making itself known to the duo.

"Sapnap!"

Karl's voice brought him fully back to the present as he noticed a wither skeleton walking towards them. Throughout the time they'd started hunting down more since their last break, they'd encountered multiple but weren't lucky enough to receive the skull.

Drawing his sword, Sapnap positioned his shield in a way that would give it easy access if needed. He watched as Karl raised his shield and circled around the monster, exposing its blindside to the other.

Using the positioning to his advantage, Sapnap plunged his sword through the skeleton's bones and ripped through it like a saw. Even with the creature's strength, the critical hit killed it before it could retaliate. And from the scattered bones appeared a calamitous skull. These were different, upon rare occasions some skulls would be laced with experience which allowed them to prevent decomposition. Picking it up, Sapnap felt relief that he wouldn't have to worry about being the weak link. However, an eerie feeling remained as he thought of the skull that rested within his backpack.

Brushing off any apparent sweat, Karl sighed, "Sheesh. That was difficult."

"Yeah," the other nodded, "And we still need two more."

As Karl observed the remaining hallway, Sapnap looked back at his watch, mumbling, "Huh, that's weird."

"Hm?" The light-haired brunette looked concerned.

"Dream hasn't sent a word back."

Karl approached his partner and could observe the watch from over Sapnap's shoulder. Like the other had claimed, there had been nothing from the masked leader.

"Didn't he say he'd always answer?"

Lifting his head, Karl was now face to face with the other as they both came to a conclusion they hadn't really wanted.

"Do you think they're in trouble?"

Karl wanted to remain optimistic, "That's a huge possibility but maybe they're just too busy traveling through the fortress to notice our texts."

"You know what? Yeah, yeah you're right. Dream and George are way too capable, I'm sure they're safe," Sapnap reasoned, "Let's go get another skull. We can find them after."