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

Chapter 22 - Cleo

Well this chapter didn't to be written. 

WRITERS BLOCK WHY?! 

There's a solid minute after the group leave where no one does anything, staring at the maze entrance. Finally. And I mean no one. We're all outside, meeting. Even BigB and TFC, who spend every other minute of their life underground in our mines gathering resources. Doc was trying to get Xisuma's permission to send a search party to kill Impulse. 

I guess he's done it for Doc. 

Finally, someone moves. It's Joel, pushing through us, turning back only after he was out, standing next to Doc for a moment before speaking. 

'Martyn was my friend. You killed him. I'm not coming back to this place if I'm forced to.' He spits, storming into the maze after the ground. Doc watches him go then faces the rest of us. 

'Right. Someone needs to bury these bodies. I'll bury Etho, because he was my friend.' 

'I'll bury Bdubs's body.' Xisuma states from behind us all. No one volunteers to take Impulse.

'And this other murderer? Or should we just dump his body somewhere in the maze where he belongs.'

'I'll bury it.' I raise my hand tentatively. Doc looks over at me. Everyone's looking at me. I don't know why I volunteered. I barely knew Impulse beyond the reaches of smiling at each other and knowing each other's names. But the creeper nods, allowing me to come up. 

'The rest of you just get on with normal stuff.' He dismisses. I come up to Impulse's body, aware of Xisuma Just behind me. When I struggle to lift up the lifeless corpse, Joe runs across to help.

'Need assistance?' He offers. I smile back, grateful, and the two of us carry the body towards the graveyard. We pass the others, and I find a convenient space just next to Skizz's grave to lay down Impulse. Together, me and Joe cover it up, while Xisuma does the same with Bdubs next to us. Finally, it's done, and it's then that I notice something. 

There's another grave in the corner of the graveyard I'd  never noticed before. I walk over, frowning, and push away the leaves surrounding it. 

'What's that?' I hear Joe ask behind. I shrug back. 

'Another grave? But no one else has died...'

'Anything on it?' My friend comes over and looks. The only writing seems to be in a different language:

ℸ ̣ ᔑ⚍∷ℸ ̣ ╎ᓭ

ʖ⚍∷╎ᒷ↸ ⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ ╎ᓭ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ !¡ᒷ∷ᓭ𝙹リ ∴⍑𝙹

∷ᒷ⎓⚍ᓭᒷ↸ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ʖᒷ 𝙹リᒷ 𝙹⎓ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ℸ ̣ ⍑╎∷ℸ ̣ || ℸ ̣ ∴𝙹

╎⎓ ||𝙹⚍ ∴ᔑリℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ꖎᒷᔑ∷リ ᒲ𝙹∷ᒷ, ∴ᒷ !¡∷𝙹⍊╎↸ᒷ↸ ᔑ ꖌリ╎⎓ᒷ

⍑ᒷ ᓵᔑリ ℸ ̣ ᒷꖎꖎ ||𝙹⚍ ᔑʖ𝙹⚍ℸ ̣ ╎ℸ ̣ ╎リ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᔑ⎓ℸ ̣ ᒷ∷ꖎ╎⎓ᒷ.

'I've never seen anything like that before... I've never really looked closely around here at all, to be honest... I'll write it down and see if I can figure out any of it.'

I nod back at Joe, who's already copying down the writing. I look around the graveyard. So many have died...  Scott, Jimmy, Martyn, Skizz, Impulse, Bdubs, False, Jevin, Zedaph... and now Grian, Tango and Joel have walked off. I work it out in my head. There are only 14 of us left. I wish I could get out of here. Out of this whole place, back to the real world. 

There has to be a way out of here somehow.

Right?

'Hey what's this?' I turn back to Joe. He's holding a piece of paper. I run over to him, taking it from him and looking at it. It's written in the same language as the grave. I read through it. 

ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ⎓╎リ↸ ᒷ ̇/╎ℸ ̣ ⎓𝙹∷ ∴⍑╎ᓵ⍑ ||𝙹⚍ ᓭᒷᒷꖌ

ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ꖎ╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ⍑ᔑᓭ ⎓ᔑ↸ᒷ↸ ᔑリ↸ ᔑꖎꖎ ╎ᓭ ʖꖎᒷᔑꖌ

ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᓭᓵᔑℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ᒷ∷ᒷ↸ ᓵꖎ⚍ᒷᓭ ᔑꖎ𝙹リ⊣ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ⊣∷𝙹⚍リ↸

ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ !¡ᔑ⊣ᒷᓭ ∴ᒷ ꖎᒷ⎓ℸ ̣ ᔑꖎꖎ ᔑ∷𝙹⚍リ↸:

リ⚍ᒲʖᒷ∷ 𝙹リᒷ: ╎リᓭ╎↸ᒷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᒲᔑ⨅ᒷ ∴⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᒷリᒷᒲ|| ᒲᒷᒷℸ ̣

ᔑ ꖌᒷ|| ╎ᓭ ꖎ||╎リ⊣ ᔑℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ╎∷ ⎓ᒷᒷℸ ̣.

∴╎ℸ ̣ ⍑╎リ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ !¡ꖎᔑᓵᒷ ||𝙹⚍ ꖎ𝙹リ⊣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ⎓╎リ↸

↸𝙹 ꖎ╎ᒷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ↸ᒷᔑ↸ ||𝙹⚍'⍊ᒷ ꖎᒷ⎓ℸ ̣ ʖᒷ⍑╎リ↸. 

'That's a lot of writing...' notes Joe. I nod back. 

'I'm going to go off now and put this somewhere.' I reply.

'Ok. See you around, Cleo.'

'Bye, Joe.'

I walk off, returning to my home.

As I Walk into the streets, BigB greets me. I smile back at him. 

'Hey, Cleo!' He grins. 'What's going on? And what are you holding?'

I look down at the paper still in my hand, stalling for a moment as I figure out what I'm going to say. Eventually, I reply.

'I found some weird rune-things in the graveyard.' I show him the paper. BigB frowns. 

'There's writing like this in the mines too. Come on, I'll show you. Maybe it will help.'

I follow him off the streets, over to where a half-fallen in cave is. Wooden beams desperately try to hold it up. I step back slightly. BigB doesn't really notice, heading straight in. He looks back at me, and I gulp, before coming in after. 

Without his lantern, we wouldn't be able to see anything. Even with it we only have limited vision. But we make it down together, with me frequently glancing up at the stone above us. It looks so weak. And if it fell...

'Don't worry about the roof. It won't fall in. Only the gravel wants to fall in. Don't ask why - none of us know. 

I nod back, not exactly relieved. But soon we stop, in front of an entire wall covered with the symbols. 

'It's a translation!' I realise, pulling out some paper and a pen. 'I need to copy this down.' I'm already writing, only pausing for a moment when TFC runs into view. 

'GET OUT!' He warns. I glance over at him, then continue writing faster. 'IT'S GOING TO COLLAPSE!'

'Cleo, run.'

'I'm nearly done!' Slightly annoyed, I write down the next few letters. I'm onto T already, so I don't feel the rush the other two do.

'CLEO!' Someone pulls me away. I protest loudly, pulling out of their grip and finishing off. The three of us run, as the wall collapses in. Before we get out, I see TFC stumble over. 

'Cleo, get out. Just run.' BigB orders. I shake my head. 

'You're not dying here.' 

'GET OUT!' He's helping TFC up, but we all know we've lost too much time. I run away, staring back just in time to see BigB's terrified face before the entire ceiling collapses.

This chapter sucks. 

I hate it.