Error 404

Chapter Thirteen

We all flew up and away, landing in a clearing of grass far away from the splitting mountain. Quietly, we sat down in a grave silence that would have made me laugh nervously if I had been watching it from a screen. But, it was real, and none of it was hilarious.

My vision hazed out again, and I winced at the bite as we all glitched again, but nobody uttered a sound.

When it ended a couple of minutes later, I shifted before finally opening my mouth. "Okay, what were we doing in the mountain? Who made all those tunnels?"

"Well, we all did," Chosen admitted, looking over my worriedly. "You guys got caught in them, right?" When I nodded, he sighed. "Sorry about that. It was my idea."

"Who lit the fire is what I would like to know," The Lord growled, looking at King.

"I didn't," he mumbled, staring at the grass in front of him.

"Well then, what did?"

"Probably the candles we put everywhere. The fire was all over the cave, not just in a few selective areas." I couldn't know for sure, but I think he shivered slightly.

"So you're saying they just tipped over?" he demanded.

"No, I am saying that the wind knocked them down."

My burnt-out elytra shuffled as if in agreement. I breathed in the cool air, half shuddering, half gasping, my heart still pumping from my narrow escape.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. The Lord stood over me, his brow creased. "Is everything all right?" he asked me quietly.

"I'm fine," I said, looking away.

He sat down next to me. Even though he was quiet, I knew that Chosen and King could still hear him, because they were literally less than a foot away from us. "What happened?" He shot King a glare.

"Nothing." I played with my fingers.

"Then why do you look defeated?"

I straightened my back posture. "I don't."

"Violaceous—stop," he said, grabbing my hand. Biting my lip, I looked at him. I knew he would be looking at me with pity. That was all anybody has ever looked at me with. But his red eyes were sincere, filled up with concern and worry.

I stared at them, my mind struggling to understand why. I had snapped at him earlier. Nobody cared about me, because I was good for nothing. Yet . . . you can't like something that is completely and utterly useless in every realm. And if he was willing to befriend me . . .

My breath caught and I flung myself at him. I don't know who was more surprised, me or him. The physical contact broke me, and I was crying again.

His movements were jerky when he rubbed my back. I only hugged him tighter. Since five years ago, this was the first time that I have ever truly been cared about. It made me realize just how lonely I was, what exactly I was missing out on.

I didn't have any friends. I was alone. King had been right about everything. And here was The Lord, trying to patch me up together again.

"I-I'm s-sorry," I stuttered into his chest. "I d-didn't mean to s-snapp at-at you."

"It's okay," he whispered into my ear. "I understand."

Even if he might have, I did not. But I was glad that it was understandable, at least by him.

Deep growling sounds started to fill the night. Reluctantly, I let go of The Lord and looked around, wiping my moist eyes. From the bright light of the Error, which currently looked like it was bubbling and ready to explode, I saw bodies slugging through the air, their arms outreached like they were trying to grab something that was always out of their range. I shivered when I saw their half-open mouths and glazed-over eyes.