Minecraft Story Mode: The Unknown Tales

Chapter 10: Sympathy

Horace had plenty of bad days during his time as the chief associate of the Sunshine Institute. That one time when he went to the guards' lounge after a particularly long and exhausting shift, only to find that someone had eaten the last sandwich. That other time when he tried chasing after an escaping inmate and ended up falling in a mud pit. And of course, Horace couldn't forget the time when the warden finally lost his patience with him and ended up spanking him with a belt in front of everyone in the institute.

But having his skin forcibly ripped off his body by a psychotic inmate and left for dead while the inmate ran off wearing his skin as a costume? That was definitely up there.

Horace was called many names during his career, Rat Face being the most recent. But he was no quitter and he refused to start now. Even though he was just an unrecognizable lump of red flesh with arms and legs, bleeding out and lying on the floor, he was somehow able to drag himself out of Patrick's cell, through the institute without anyone seeing him, and end up in the Burrows, leaving a long, thick trail of blood behind him as he went, like a horrific nightmare version of a slug. It was a combination of sheer willpower and ridiculously good luck.

After dragging himself all the way to the Burrows, Horace just couldn't go any further, his energy entirely expended. He could hear mobs groaning and screeching in the distance, knowing it'd only be a matter of time before they found him, if he didn't bleed out first, that is. He sighed and closed his eyes, grudgingly accepting his fate...

...until he suddenly heard heavy footsteps heading towards him. They didn't sound like they came from mobs, since mobs tended to be on the slower side. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a strange, hulking man towering over him. He had red skin, horns on his head, and was wearing an inmate uniform. He was also holding a mooshroom in his arms.

Horace vaguely recognized him as the inmate who wanted to tear him apart after seeing his beloved pet nearly die. Oxblood, was it? And was the cow's name Jeff or something?

Nevertheless, Horace was glad to see Oxblood glaring down at him. He preferred dying at the hands of an inmate rather than being torn to shreds by mobs, thank you very much. "...kill...me...," he whispered weakly, his vision turning black. "...Kill...Me..."

At first, a myriad of emotions went across Oxblood's face, before settling on an expression that Horace was unfamiliar with. Then, the giant of a man bent down, scooped Horace up with one arm, flung him over his shoulder, and ran.

Horace couldn't remember anything after that. It was all a painful blur. The only thing he could remember was feeling himself slightly rocking on the large man's shoulder, and after a few hours, was gently placed down on a hard surface. He also felt something long and smooth wrap around him from head to toe. He was in too much pain to remember anything else.

After what felt like forever, Horace finally woke up from his fever-induced state. He immediately tried sitting up, but his entire body was wracked with excruciating pain, forcing him to lay back down while grinding his teeth in agony. He slowly opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings. He appeared to be in a small cave that was lit up by a single torch planted on the ground next to him. "Where...am I?," he whispered hoarsely before coughing violently. A few specks of blood flew out of his mouth. "What..happened...?"

Suddenly, a whole slew of memories flowed into his head. Being skinned alive by that psychotic inmate...dragging himself into the Burrows...being rescued by Oxblood...

Horace slowly craned his neck to look at his body, hoping that his skin was still there and what had happened was just a bad dream, but no such luck. His entire body was wrapped in bandages, covering every inch of it. Surprisingly, they were very clean. Horace turned his head a little and nearly puked when he saw a mountain of blood soaked bandages nearby.

A loud moo made him nearly jump a foot in the air, making him hiss in pain from the sudden exertion. He turned towards the source of the noise and was immediately met with a wet tongue on his face. He gagged and tried to push away whatever was licking him.

"You're awake," Oxblood rumbled, stepping into the cave. Horace finally got a good look at the animal licking him, which was the same mooshroom that Oxblood was carrying. The mooshroom also had a thick bandage wrapped around its neck. The sight of it reminded Horace that he tried to kill it with a pair of shears back in the Sunshine Institute.

"Get that stupid animal away from me," Horace said, his voice still hoarse. Oxblood grumbled angrily and gently pulled the mooshroom back by the scruff of its neck. "His name is Geoff," he growled. "And I'd appreciate it if you showed a little more goddamn respect. I just saved your life!" Horace winced, feeling shame and guilt for the first time in years. "Right, sorry...," he trailed off. "...why did you save me? I thought you hated me."

"I do," said Oxblood, nodding, "but that doesn't mean I'm gonna stoop to your level and leave you behind." He reached into a small bag and took out a large sandwich. "Here," he said, tossing it to Horace. "Eat. Once you get your strength back, you're leaving." Realizing how famished he was, Horace took the sandwich and ripped out chunks of it, greedily stuffing them into his mouth. As he ate, the full realization of what had happened struck him like a freight train. He tried his best not to appear weak in front of Oxblood, but tears began pouring down his face as he continued eating the sandwich. After finishing his last bite, Horace burst out sobbing, bringing his bandaged knees to his bandaged face while his bandaged shoulders shook uncontrollably. "Oh god, oh god, oh god," he whimpered between sobs.

Horace was so busy crying that he didn't hear Oxblood's footsteps growing louder, nor did he feel his large hand comfortingly rub his bandaged back. "H-he lured me i-into his cell," he whimpered, "a-and then he...he...OH GOD!" He let out a loud wail.

"Shhh, it's alright. Shhh," Oxblood whispered, as if comforting a small child. Horace then felt something nudge his elbow a little. He looked up and saw Geoff nudging him with his snout, apparently having forgotten how Horace tried to kill him not too long ago.

"He seems to forgive you," Oxblood commented. Hesitantly, Horace reached towards the mooshroom and began petting his snout. Surprisingly, Oxblood didn't stop him.

"I'll leave the two of you alone," the giant man said, about to leave the cave. Before he could take a single step outside, however, he heard Horace whisper two words that he couldn't make out. "What was that?," he asked, turning back towards the mummified man.

Horace gave Oxblood a grateful smile, still petting Geoff. "Thank you."

Oxblood only grunted and left the cave to scavenge for resources. Something about Horace made his heart beat a little faster, but Oxblood decided it was nothing.