Against the Universe - After ONE 18

FIVE | Weak As A Backpack

The whole world was wavering. Liam rubbed his dizzy head, trying to fully wake himself up.

With a cloudy, detached expression, the backpack sat up and stared at his crooked leg. His eyebrows scrunched in anxiety; he quickly looked away. Too many memories were popping up in his mind and he wanted to keep them away at least for a minute more.

Gazing up, he could see the vines hanging floppily above his head: all of them were motionless, as if nothing strange had happened yesterday. Well, at least they hadn't attacked him while Liam was passed out.

Discerning his whereabouts didn't bring much to the table, though. Liam knew he needed to focus on his leg, try to get it working again, but it required all of his willpower to even entertain the thought... let alone go through with it.

He had never needed to do it himself in the past - Airy had taken care of it both times. Liam wasn't sure if he could manage fixing a leg just as easily as him.

He reached down, hoping to set at least one of the fractures into place... but just grabbing the limb nearly caused a yelp to escape his throat.

Hours passed. Attempts to straighten out his leg proved to be a massive undertaking, but Liam refused to give up. It didn't matter that his whole body was shaking and that pain finally caused tears to trickle down his face. He needed to do it and he would do it.

Only when he woke up again did he realise he must've passed out of exhaustion. And that's truly when downcast thoughts started flooding his mind.

Nobody would find him. He'd never get out of here.

He would die here and his friends would stay trapped on the Plane, forever wondering where he went.

Liam squeezed his eyes shut. It hurt to think about that.

Tired and aching from all the effort, he carefully lay back down. He took deep, slow breaths to lessen the extreme tension his body felt.

As much as he hated to admit, he couldn't do this himself. He needed some sort of assistance. But there was nobody here... except...

...the vines.

The mere thought of them made him uncomfortable. Yesterday's experience was still fresh.

Liam could see the vines from his position: nothing up there had changed, they didn't even look like they had ever been sentient. But he knew that last night they had proposed him fulfilling his deepest desires, and this one was simple: Straighten out my leg. If he could get the forest to help, he would have a chance at getting back to the cave. If he accepted the promise, he would get back on his feet.

But the service had its price.

He would also have to agree to its desires - that he would let it implant itself in his mind.

No, no, I can't do that. I can't! I don't want it anywhere near me.

How could he trust something so murderous and unhinged? Something that could use his very own hands to hurt and kill? He felt sickened at the idea.

But how else could he get back? What other options were there? Staying away from the contestants for so long was stressful itself: they needed him, and he couldn't afford to be here any longer. Worry was eating Liam from the inside.

Will I even be conscious after this? What if it controls me whole? What if it makes me do something harmful to them?

I can't walk, and they're alone. They'll die there anyway if I don't do anything.

Liam put hands over his head; he feared making this decision, but he had to take the chance. Otherwise he'd continue to rot here in the middle of nowhere.

He shut his eyes and mentally lowered the barriers that kept him safe... preparing for the worst.

For a second, nothing came. But then uneasiness started creeping up his chest, slimy claws climbed their way into the corners of his mind. Something alien settled in, observing and studying him. Liam flinched violently, his mental defenses screaming in alarm. But he forced himself to hold out until the feeling of dread passed.

He hastily opened his eyes and was immediately jumpscared by how close the vines had got. They were all around him, seemingly staring, although they had no eyes.

But... Liam was still himself. He didn't become anybody's puppet... at least not yet. Shakingly, he tried to keep his composure.

Please... straighten out my leg, he managed to put telepathically. I need to go home.

The plant hand slid forward and grabbed his leg by the ankle. Squeezing his eyelids, Liam dug his fingers into the ground and braced himself.

A strong pull came accompanied by sharp affliction, triggering him to hiss through his lips when he tried to hold his scream.

With hitched breaths, he looked down to see his leg was back to its regular length, although it obviously still needed to heal normally - or, as normally as it could without any proper medical care.

Next second, the lianas brought some sticks needed to stiffen it. Liam watched unamused as a strange little show took place on his leg: the small vines placed the materials, wrapped around the limb themselves and detached from the mother vines, which retreated and gathered a few steps behind the backpack.

Liam tried to get up, but he wasn't stable enough and lost his balance. As he let out a groan, he lifted himself enough to look around. A brief memory of the crutch appeared in his mind: it should be somewhere near, right? And luckily, a wooden shape next to some bushes caught his eye.

Unfortunately though... it was much further away than he would've liked.

Liam stared at the ground, feeling humiliated. He... he couldn't get there. He had been reduced to a cripple once again; he couldn't even walk on his own.

Lying back to the ground, he stared at the vines upside-down. "...uhm... care to... bring it to me?" he asked.

Irritatingly, they didn't move an inch this time.

Liam closed his eyes with a frown. "...please?" he added in a tight voice. It felt so, so awful - pleading for help from somebody who made you hurt in the first place. Everything about this situation felt incredibly wrong. But what else was he to do?

Soon enough, the crutch was in his hands, and the crutch meant a possibility to get up - which, wincing and with great difficulty, he did. Although he had to put all of his weight on the wooden stick he now wielded, since both of his legs weren't exactly trustworthy: one had just broken, the other had been crushed by a tree some time ago and wasn't in an ideal state either.

Liam leaned on the crutch harder, trying not to tremble on his legs. Help me get home? he tried calling telepathically once again.

But the vines simply all pointed in one direction. It seemed like they wanted nothing to do with him now, which perplexed Liam. Hadn't they wanted to make contact? Why were they staying away?

Maybe because they already got what they wanted, he thought gloomily.

He shot them a final glare and turned to trek back home. Trying to ignore the throbbing in his limbs, Liam cautiously started walking, determined to get as far as possible. He hissed, gritted his teeth, bit his lips, tongue, anything to hold back the ache and move forward.

But pain started to numb him out, making his ears ring, his vision darken and his thinking cease. All he could focus on now was how much his legs pulsed with fire each step. And how much he wanted to just lie down.

He barely registered the sounds of running water and the sight of a clearing.

Liam didn't care where he was... he felt too exhausted to care. The crutch suddenly disappeared from his arms' reach; he just heard a whack against the floor. His body began swaying back and forth until it inevitably met the same fate.

The ground felt so welcoming to his breathless self. His eyes closed with a sweet promise of a senseless sleep.

He could rest here for just a moment... just one...

Just one moment...

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