And All Was Quiet.

The Wasteland [3/5]

You hold your breath as you do your best to remain hidden behind a rock.

This beast— you've never seen anything like it before.

At first you had approached it curiously; a creature of darkness, shadow. The opposite of a star. The opposite of you. A black hole manifested into a horrific form.

But when you got too close it had lashed out. You felt your essence drain itself from the area that you were scratched. It is the first time that you've ever bled— something you believed that only mortals could do.

But now you're experiencing a rude awakening— facing the realization that, perhaps, you were not as immortal as the elders claimed. And right now you are alone, and if you don't escape then no one will know what happened or where you went.

The Collector won't know.

You'll never see him again.

Your chest twists painfully. That along with the strain in your lungs makes your knees weak, and you allow yourself to slowly slide down onto the ground.

Essence continues to flow out of the deep scratch on your arm, like light filtering through the cracks of a broken wall. You think that letting it leak can't be good, so you cover the injury with your hand with the hopes of stopping the bleeding.

Why did I come here alone? Why did I come here alone?

From behind the rock you can hear the creature sniffing the air. It must smell you.

So you take a deep breath, gather yourself, and prepare to make a run for it.

I just need to fly out of here.

You leap up into the air— attempting to will your body to float— but instead you find that your power is in too weak of a state to abide to your desires, and you fall back onto the ground with a loud thud.

The beast rears it's head in your direction.

You immediately scramble to your feet as it launches itself after you, shrieking as you narrowly dodge it's claws.

You run as fast as you can, mind loud with static as you sprint in any direction to avoid the creature's attacks. But it manages to snag your ankle, and you go tumbling down into the wasteland.

The creature prowls towards you, ready to strike. You prepare yourself for the worst, when a blue beam of light shoots down from the sky; stars and ribbons creating a wall between you and the beast.

You'd recognize that power anywhere, and in the back of your mind you feel relief. As expected, the beast devours the magic, sucking it into it's body and tearing the wall apart.

"(Y/N)!!!"

Your head snaps up in the direction of the voice.

The Collector is flying towards you, riding a blue star. He reaches out his hand as he rapidly approaches, and just as the creature rips it's way through the barrier, The Collector manages to grasp your hand pull you out of the beast's reach and onto the shooting star.

You both narrowly escape the creature's attack, and The Collector wastes no time in getting you both out of there.

The shooting star flies you both to the sky, and as you leave the wasteland you can hear the creature's horrifying shrieks and wails slowly dissipate out of ear shot.

Space has never felt as safe as it does now, and it's only then that you realize how tense your body was.

"What were you thinking..."

You look at your friend. The distraught in their expression is unlike any despair you've ever seen before. Tears are gathered in their eyes. He looks like he died.

"W-What?" You stutter.

"What... were you thinking!?" The shooting star comes to an abrupt halt. The Collector glares at you, furious, incredulous, horrified, sad, waves of emotion passing through them every second, "Why would you go there alone!? The Elders told us how dangerous it was and you still went!! You didn't even tell me!!!"

Their shoulders begin to shake and their breathing becomes uneven. Their eyes water even further and their words come out wobbly, "If- If you had... if that thing— caught you. I wouldn't— I wouldn't even know what- what h—" Tears start to fall from their eyes, and their voice cracks, "If you d-disappeared, I wouldn't even know what happened to you." They sob, "Do you have any idea how that would make me feel?"

You're speechless. Mind still racing from the fear, guilt festering, everything is too much.

"Collector..." They look at you. Unable to hold yourself together any longer, the weight of your exhaustion sinks in and you begin to cry, "I- I was so scared."

They immediately pull you into a deep hug, sobbing.

"I was too."

Terrified. Wondering if you would get out alive, if you would ever see each other again, terrified of everything that could have happened.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." You cry, "I'm sorry. You-You're right to be upset with me."

They shake their head, "I-I'm sorry for getting so mad. I was just scared— I don't want you to d-disappear. Not you. Anyone but you."

You both stay like that for a while longer. Until your weeping subsides and is reduced to occasional sniffles and whimpers. Even after that, you don't let each other go.

"Please... don't ever do that again... at least... not without me?" The Collector pleas quietly, "We're supposed to stick together, remember?"

"That's right..." You mutter, recalling the promise you both made in the beginning of your journey, "Together no matter what... just like we promised."

You feel The Collector's arm unwind from you, their hand searching for yours. You understand what they're trying to do and link your pinky with theirs. You both giggle lightheartedly, tiredly.

The star drifts idly, the cold still of space encompassing your forms.

And all was quiet.