Prison of the dead (Labyrinth of Monsters' sequel) A hermitcraft/3rd life fanfic

Chapter 2 - Impulse

Everyone's looking at me. 

Good. 

I want them to see this. 

I want them to see what happens when they ignore my brother's death. 

I want them to see why they should've cared.

Because there's nothing left. 

Skizz has been avenged. 

Everyone hates me.

Even Tango wants me dead.

I'm already bleeding, leaning against the building, blood everywhere and a knife in my hand. I'm smiling, almost laughing. This is it. This is what it's all be leading up to. 

I'm going to see him again. 

My brother.

Skizz. 

Finally. 

I can see him.

Talk to him.

Laugh with him.

I look down at the knife, unable to stop a small laugh as I speak again. 

'Bring me to the afterlife, Brother. I've had enough of this maze.' 

I stab myself in the chest. Everything is pain. But it's worth it. Death is worth it. All of it. Just to see him again. Tango's at my side, crying, howling my name. Grian's also run towards me. But it's too late.

Victorious at last, I die.

And then I wake up.

I don't know where I am. Alone, scared, covered in blood. My own blood. It's everywhere. On my hands, on my clothes, dripping from the gaping hole in my chest. I almost scream, stumbling to my feet. How am I alive? Why am I alive? What happened? Why am I here? Where is here? It seems like we're in a normal, abandoned world, in a forest. 

'Skizz?' I call my brother's name. The reason I did this. The reason I did all of this. He must be here somewhere. I can't have- no, he's got to be here somewhere. With the other people. There are others here. All waking up the same as I did. Confused. None of them are Skizz.

NONE OF THEM ARE SKIZZ?!

He's not here.

No.

No!

NO!

He has to be here.

Why isn't he here?

What happened? 

Why isn't he here?

I died to see him.

I did it all to see him.

He isn't here.

Where is he? 

Why isn't he here?

WHY ISN'T HE HERE?!

I'm in tears, choking back a horrified sob as I realise it was all for nothing. Etho's death. I killed him. Why did I kill him? He isn't here either. Neither is Zedaph. Why aren't any of my friends here?! False... Cleo... Xisuma... Jevin... none of the people here are people I was close to at all. I'm alone. Completely alone. Surrounded by others in the same situation as me, but still desperately alone. Some of them are frowning at me. No one wants to look at me. Why? What did I do to them? How is this my fault?! I didn't do anything wrong?!

You killed Etho. A voice in my head reminds me. And Bdubs. And that vex guy. You're the bad guy here. 

I scan the group for anyone I can talk to. It's then that I see him.

 The vex. 

The other one. 

The friend of the one I killed.

'WHY ARE YOU HERE?!' Everyone's looking at me. I figure out that I must've spoken aloud. I didn't want to say it aloud. 

'Impulse? Are you ok?' Cleo asks. 

'No! Skizz isn't here! No one's here! No one I like! Leave me alone!' I snap back. I need to calm down somehow, but I don't. I look around once again before running away. 

Running.

Always running. 

Why was I always running? 

Why did they make me run?

Every day.

Even after he'd died. 

Tears blur my vision and I have to stop, hiding behind a tree. There are footsteps behind me. I don't look back to see who it is. They probably don't care about me. I collapse onto my hands and knees, shaking, crying, praying to whoever might be listening that this is just a dream. I'll wake up at some point with Skizz again, and we'll be happy. We can laugh about this all, and how silly it was, and how scared I was. I'm sure he's alive somewhere. The creators wouldn't just kill us, right?

Right?

'Impulse?'

I glare over at Cleo. She's kneeling next to me, a look of concern on her face. I hate it when people feel sorry for me. 

They probably don't mean it.

'Are you ok?'

'F*** off.' I reply, not caring how rude I am. Maybe it will make her go back to the other idiots with me in this place.

'I know you're sad about Skizz still, but...'

'But WHAT? Are you going to tell me to get back to normal too? That everything's going to be fine? Because it's NOT!'

'Impulse, calm down. Skizz's death was hard on us all.'

'You're lying! You know that no one except me cared! You know that I was the only person really affected by it!'

'IMPULSE! Please, stop this. It isn't my fault, ok? We're all in this together. And whatever problems you have with any other people here can stop.' 

'Even if that person helped murder my brother?!'

'You killed his best friend too, remember. You're equal. He doesn't judge you, and you shouldn't judge him. Now, come on back to the others.'

'No.'

'Impulse...'

'Fine!'

I trudge sullenly after Cleo as we make our way back to the others. I've barely even talked to most of them before. I avoid looking at Ren and the other vex, focussing instead on Xisuma, who's talking about getting stuff organised in this place. I don't listen to him. Why should I? Instead I'm staring at the ground, scuffing it with my foot. 

'-and Impulse, you'll be gathering wood.' I look up as I hear my name. 'With-'

'Can I go?' 

My heart almost stops as I realise who's spoken.

It's the other vex.