The labyrinth of monsters (a Hermitcraft and third life AU fanfic)

Chapter 2 -Tango

Oh, never mind. Here's the writers block.

I lead Grian down the path, my heart still racing from being in the maze. I hadn't expected to see anyone. I definitely didn't expect a newcomer. It really didn't feel like long since Zed and Stress arrived here. And with recent events...

I shake off the feeling, looking back at Grian. He's quite small, and has shaggy mousy-brown hair, plus a red sweater. But the most notable thing is his wings. No one's ever had wings before. 

At least, no one on our side...

Again, the dark thoughts come, and I have to push them aside. Stay positive. I can't scare Grian too much on his first day. He's clearly nervous, looking around at everything. It was how we all were when we came here. 

'Most of the houses are where we sleep, and relax. You'll be with Joel, because he's alone. One of the others is where we gather information on the others. Like dog-man. All we know is that there are 6 of them.'

'How many people have died?'

My insides turn cold at the question. 

'D...Died?' I ask back, failing at staying calm. 'What do you mean?'

'How many have died? You said the others were dangerous, well how many have they killed?'

'And here is the farmhouse, where we keep all our stock of food. We need to gather it ourselves.' I try to ignore the question, changing the subject again, hoping Grian won't want to keep talking about death.

'I know someone's died. Who is it?'

'It doesn't matter. Can you stop talking about this?' I plead desperately. 'There's a lot here to show you. There are 24 people here, and we're mostly split into different groups: Tech people that make sure everyone's working; farming and looking after the animals; the leader and deputies, weaponry, armour and training; finding out about the others and the maze; and people who explore the maze.'

'Why are you exploring the maze if it's dangerous?'

'Because there must be an exit, to keep the others away, and because it gets really boring in here. Everyone goes out on the patrols - Doc organises those - but the main maze runners go out pretty much every day.'

'Who are they?'

'Impy, Bdubs, Solidarity and xB. I'm a techie guy with Mumbo and Jevin. Most people investigate the maze. Etho, Doc and Xisuma are in charge... I know you know none of these people, but you'll meet them soon.' I realise that I'm rambling and stop abruptly. 'Anyway, uhh...'

'Hey Tango!' With a  internal sigh of relief, I turn to see Zed coming over, his brown top and blue trousers covered in mud. 'This the new guy?'

'This is Grian. Grian, meet Zed.'

'I look after the sheep and pigs with Pearl.' Zed holds out his hand for Grian to shake and the winged newbie accepts, smiling awkwardly. 'You wanna come and see them?' 

Thankful for the intervention, I follow the two as they head over to where the animal pens are. Pearl's there too, feeding some of the cows. She waves at me, finishing off and running over. 

'New guy? Cool!'

'I'm Grian.' 

'PearlescentMoon. Pearl for short. Welcome to the maze!'

'If you want, we can finish showing him around?' Zed suggests. I nod back, relieved. 

'Thanks. I need some rest.'

'Sure!'

I walk off, leaving Grian was Zed and Pearl, and find my way back to my house, heading inside. It's small, and I only have half of it, but still home. Letting go off all my emotions, I lie down on my bed, staring at the ceiling. It doesn't take long for me to close my eyes and drift asleep.

There's commotion outside when I wake up, so I slip out of bed and stumble out, sweeping my hair off my face. It's night time, and I see Scott pacing in the moonlight. Joel and Etho are both there, evidently trying to calm him down. I run over, asking what's happened. 

'Jimmy's not back yet.' Etho tells me.

'He should've been back ages ago!' Scott shoots over. 'Him and Hypno went out at dawn, and it's now night again... I know I should've gone with him! I should've protected him...'

Joel tried to comfort Scott, but the blue-haired player pushed him again. 

'He's probably dead... both of them.' 

'What's happening?' Jevin ran over, clearly concerned. 'Hypno's not back yet, is he? I've been waiting to prank him for ages...'

'They're still in the maze.' 

'Dog-man was prowling around when me and Impy were out.' I recall. 'But nowhere near where Hypno and Jimmy were going...' 

'They're probably ok... don't worry' 

'Don't worry?! How could you say something like that, Etho! My platonic husband's out there somewhere, he's probably been killed, and you tell me 'don't worry'?!'

'I'm trying to help...'

'Yeah, just like you 'helped' when Martyn was killed!' The group falls silent. 'You we're with him when dog-man killed him! You didn't help!'

'Of COURSE I helped, Scott!' Etho rages back. 'There was nothing I could've done!'

'That's a first...'

'Are we still worried or are we just arguing again?' I interrupt. 'Because it seems a lot like the latter.'

'HELP!' 

Heads Look over to the entrance at the sound of Hypno's voice. Scott's already running, to where the blood-stained player stands. I follow closely after, seeing for myself the gruesomeness of the situation.

There's blood everywhere. One of Hypno's eyes is closed, with a nasty scar over it, and one of his legs looks broken, bleeding heavily. He falls to his knees, still panting heavily. 

'Jimmy! Jimmy! Wake up!' Scott cries. I glance at his husband, who's unconscious, Hypno having carried him back. His superhero costume is tattered, and it's almost impossible to tell what is fabric and what is skin under all the red. I call for assistance, and see Impy run over, carrying several healing potions and golden apples. 

'What happened?!' He questions frantically. 'Which one of them got you.' 

'Vex-guy. The one with the wings.' Hypno barely manages to say. I look over at Impulse, the expression of horror growing on his face. 

'Impy?' I try and speak to him, but he's silent. Scott wails something again, and all of our attention is shifted back to Jimmy. 

'No! No! He can't be! Please...' I can do nothing for Scott as he weeps, knowing the truth as well as everyone there.

Jimmy's dead.

First death, chapter 2!

>:)