Last Life, The Third Life Game Sequel

Chapter Three

Grian ducked as Bdubs swung his sword again. His mind was racing, and he had completely forgotten the diamond sword in his hand. Bdubs was recklessly hacking towards Grian, and Grian's side had begun to bleed severely.

He began to run. He could hear heavy footsteps behind him, giving an indication that Bdubs was still following him. He rolled up his sleeve as he ran, checking his tattoos. His three hearts were still there, although the lime green one had begun to break, as if smashed in places.

He's still chasing me!? Grian jumped into the riverbank, heart pumping wildly. He hadn't expected that to actually happen. What was he supposed to do?

They raced across the rocks, nearly slipping at times. Grian felt another slash across his back, and he cried out in pain. His arm was stinging madly, and yet he could still hear Bdubs chasing him.

"How are you so fast!?" Bdubs shouted. Grian grinned a little. Surely the latter was slowing down if he couldn't keep up.

Stab.

A sharp pain in his back.

Grian gasped and fell onto his knees. He looked down at his stomach, where the end of a sword was protruding. He looked behind him, and saw a smiling Bdubs.

But his world was fading from view. So much pain. Purple mist surrounded him, and he felt the odd sensation of being... watched. Not by Bdubs, who Grian was sure gone by this point.

Not being able to stand the pain anymore, Grian collapsed, and everything went dark.

He came to, making ragged gasps for breath, a sharp pain in his right arm. For a moment, he just lay there. Not wanting to move, as even though he was in pain, he felt a sense of security. A sense of peace.

Then realisation hit him. Bdubs was just barely chasing him, but why did he stop? Where did he go? Grian sat up and looked around. He wasn't on the riverbank anymore, he was... where he had first arrived?

When Grian had woken up for the first time, he was in a large clearing at the top of a hill. Turning, he saw the speaker that had told him where he was, confirming his theory of where he was.

But... Bdubs was attacking me... trying to kill me!

He rolled up the sleeve of his right arm, where a stinging pain was throbbing. There, where there used to be a lime green heart that represented his third life... was gone. Just skin, plain skin. The heart was gone.

As soon as he looked at his arm, the pain subsided. As if his body knew he needed to see this.

Grian thought back to what the voice coming from the speaker said, about lifes and boogeymen.

"Did I... die?" Grian asked out loud. The realisation hit him as soon as the words came out. He must've, there's no way he could've survived the blows Bdubs was hitting him with. The wounds were too severe. And his sudden teleportation, the loss of one of his hearts... it was all so surreal, and yet he knew it to be true.

He stood up, a little too quickly. Feeling dizzy, he reached to his side for his sword, and found nothing. Gritting his teeth, he assumed Bdubs must've stolen it off of his corpse, along with all his food, provisions, everything.

Making up his mind, he began to march towards the place where the enchanting table was. If Bdubs and Etho were still there, and he had a feeling they were, he was determined to get his stuff back and repay Bdubs in whole.

He arrived after not too long. As he had predicted, Etho and Bdubs were still huddled around the enchanting table, having a discussion in low voices. Not wanting to reveal himself too quickly, Grian crouched behind the trees and inched forward, trying to listen in to their conversation.

"-although," Etho was saying as Grian came into earshot. "It was a little surprising. We were in the caves together for so long, and you never even tried to attack, or as far as I know."

He caught a glimpse of Bdubs, who was nervously running his fingers along the blade of his sword. It was stained with Grian's blood.

"Yeah, I guess I knew I wouldn't survive in a fight with you," Bdubs explained. "You seem too..." he trailed off, eyes darting around the treeline. His eyes locked with Grian's and he took a step back. Knowing it was pointless to hide now, Grian sidled out of the trees nervously, but stood his ground with confidence.

"Oh... I forgot you must respawn close to here," Bdubs confessed. "But... I'm cured now, so you don't need to worry anymore?" He held his arms out, as if inviting Grian to accept his apology and join them again.

Grian glared. "That's not gonna work for me. You can't attack me now, as far as I know, but I'm not sure I can trust you two again."

"Hey, I didn't do anythi-" Etho began, but Bdubs cut him off. "That's alright, G. Here, we have your stuff." He held out Grian's makeshift sack filled with supplies and his diamond encrusted sword.

Grian stepped forward cautiously. What if it was a trap? Bdubs' sword was still at his side, and he could simply use Grian's own weapon against him. And Etho wasn't holding anything at the moment, but his big coat could probably contain all sorts of tricks.

But neither of them seemed to be moving as he inched forward, so he ran straight to Bdubs, grabbed his stuff, and darted back to the treeline before either of them could react.

Grian turned back for a moment. Bdubs' face was filled with an odd expression, like a mix of concern and contempt. "Sorry, Grian," he awkwardly muttered.

"Don't worry, I'll remember this," Grian sneered. He turned on his heel, and marched off into the trees.