The HEP's Curse (A Hermitcraft Fanfiction)

Chapter 3: Midnight Talks

Hours passed in the dungeons, and every second was unbearable to Ren. The other Hermits had managed to fall asleep, and it was understandable. It was probably midnight or early morning by now, and they'd had a long day previously. However, no matter how hard he tried, Ren couldn't join them. Even the slightest unnatural sound brought him back to reality when he began to drift off, his ears twitching, trying to find the source. It was a wonder his movement hadn't woken Doc yet. Though Ren felt safer in the cyborg's arms than not, he couldn't help a bit of fear in such a strange and hostile environment.

When Ren was sure he wouldn't be sleeping any time soon, he carefully slipped out of his boyfriend's grasp. He couldn't stay put, needed to move, to do something, and he didn't want to wake up Doc. At first, he carefully sniffed the air and the walls, wondering if maybe he could find something the others hadn't; but all he could smell besides his friends was stale scents of the dungeon. With nothing else to do, he resigned to pacing, racking his brain for some plan of escape and biting back anxious whines.

"You alright, Ren?"

Ren stiffened at the whisper but relaxed a moment later when he recognized Etho's voice. The ninja was sitting in the corner of the cell, covered by shadows. If it weren't for his silver hair that stood out against the darkness, Ren might not have spotted him at all.

"Yeah. Just... couldn't sleep," Ren answered quietly.

"Understandable," Etho sighed. "I couldn't either."

"This place is creepy, my dude," Ren murmured.

Etho nodded. "We gotta get out of here somehow."

"Yep. How, though? There's been no clear way so far," Ren said.

"It's not going to be clear," Etho replied. "We need to be smart about it, maybe take a closer look at our resources."

"Like what? Dude, they've left us with nothing," Ren pointed out.

"Well, there's-"

"Not still plotting an escape, are you?"

Ren's ears went flat against his head at the new voice. Tango's chuckle echoed through the empty room, making it seem even more villainous than it was. Ren slowly turned to face him while Etho stood up tensely, both unnerved.

"None of your business, Tango," Etho said quietly.

"You're not gonna get out," Tango went on, ignoring Etho's words. "I helped build this place. Trust me, we thought of everything you guys might try."

"Everything, huh?" Ren retorted. "How do you know we don't have some crazy tricks up our sleeves?"

"You're weak compared to HEP," Tango said flatly.

"You wanna bet?" Ren growled, revealing his sharp canines.

"I mean... you're still in HEP's dungeon, aren't you? If you were better, you would've escaped by now."

Ren felt his confidence deflate at those words. Tango was... right, wasn't he? They had nothing to bluff about, no way to escape. The Resistance was in a lesser position currently.

"Ha. That's what I thought," Tango scoffed.

"Tango, please." Etho's voice was soft but so desperate and hurt that it surprised both Ren and Tango. "You know this is wrong, don't you? We had a thing, me and you. We're lo-" he broke off, shaking his head, before correcting himself, "We're friends. Why are you doing this?"

Conflict flickered in Tango's eyes, and he suddenly looked unsure. "You think I wanted to do this, Etho?" he whispered, just barely loud enough for them to hear. "No. I didn't have a choice."