Solitary [MCSM Fanfiction]

Chapter 5: EXPECTATION

Down the tides of ledges and up the waves of hills, Petra dashed through the red, crimson sea while trying to ignore the ache in her thighs. As she followed her make-shift trail to the portal, her fury rose to the brim at her expectation of Aiden not being met. She was loyal, willing to lay down her life for this build; he was absent and ditched her like a lost cause.

The only time she slowed was when passing through her slim bridge over the lava void, instantly accelerating again to escape a ghast on her tracks. Gladly, its hovering speed was a lot slower than the pace Petra ran at. But it decided to open up and spurt a fire charge past its mouth.

She stifled a scream as part of the explosion smacked into her ankle, stunning her for a few long moments. Smoke lifted from her boots, though to her relief, there was no threat when she checked for fire. The ghast launched an attack again, which this time, Petra was more ready for, so she rolled out of the way and worked her sore limbs in an endless determination.

Apprehension for another blast forced Petra to jump into a crevice she carved out earlier from the quartz, deciding she was going to wait until the floating, crying monster got bored with her.

Her back was pressed firmly against the heated netherrack as she bowed her head and squeezed her hands tightly over her ears. Still, the waves of destruction could be felt through the layer Petra was hiding in.

The crevice quivered and quaked. That was one.

Petra heard another ghostly squawk through her fingers before the entire structure trembled for the second time, rubble from the ceiling cascading to the ground.

Her gut jumped to her throat when the fire struck the cave on the third, knees scooting closer to her chest.

Regardless of the fact she couldn't see the wall between her and the ghast, she knew it only took one more attack to break it apart entirely. With her pickaxe at the ready, she dug down. Her untamed heartbeats were the only thing she could hear afterwards, an unmistakable reminder that she was still alive and still eager to escape this nightmare.

Adrenaline-filled minutes passed. The girl made sure it returned to silence before making her next move.

----

Within eyeshot. That's how far the portal was.

It took her half an hour to find the fortress and only half that time to bound back. Now, she was closer than ever to finishing something barely anyone would dare start. The rumors could spread around Endercon like wildfire. Before, all she could do was force herself into the purge of acceptance, ever so desperately trying to move on with her name constantly living in the mouths of the public. However, now she felt like it didn't matter.

Because whatever they said could be true and it wouldn't be satire.

She could be a warrior. The nether was just the beginning.

Petra was only a few feet away from the portal when the violet screen distorted.

"Lukas?" She stopped in her place, seeing him appear conveniently in front of her as he mirrored her sprint.

There was no time for an answer - a ghast rose beside them, and it was going to spit its charge at them both.

"Get behind me!" Petra yelled. Lukas heeded and boosted himself parallel to her and the ghast, lining himself up behind the shield she took out just in time. Its explosion blew up against it, but the grips on the soles of Petra's boots did a good job of keeping her in place.

"Are you alright?" That was the question she wanted to ask Lukas although it came directly from him instead.

"I think so," she said, risking a glance at him behind her.

The troubled boy caught sight of the ash and coal smeared on her cheeks before trying not to turn green at his first time view of a ghast. "How long have you been here?"

Both of them flinched as another explosion on Petra's shield caught them off guard.

"On second thought, let's kill the ghast first," Lukas huffed, shuddering, with the golden locks of his hair following the way his head shook.

"Get back to the portal. I'll take care of this thing."

His heart fell, torn between the decision of leaving her or being her moral support with the major hazards. Even though he'd just arrived, it was clear in his eyes that great trepidation for Petra was the most dominant in him. But at the same time, the nether was the last place he wanted to be.

Petra had other concerns on her mind, the worst of them all being what Lukas would think if she couldn't even kill this ghast. The problem was rooted in the fact that she wasn't confident in her accuracy yet. What if the hit was too lousy? What if she missed? Her sword was ready as always; was she?

She couldn't do it. It's too hard, she thought, bringing up her shield in place of her weapon to block the fiery attack.

Therefore, she dropped her pride for the sake of her survival, bolting for the portal where Lukas was waiting. On her signal, they stepped towards the frame.

No matter how fast she ran, the ghast was still there, twitting her with its ugly cry. Determination filled its next shot, and it was headed straight for Petra.

She could see it in the peripherals of her vision - closer and closer it sped until she finally yet unknowingly drew her comfort tool. With one rapid swipe, the redhead returned the mini meteor to the sender, making it flash red before it vanished among the puffs of smoke.

"Did I just-" she asked herself as she frowned at the sword in her hand.

Oh, man! If only Lukas hadn't gone through the portal a second too early.

Whether he saw her impressive stunt wasn't important anymore - she needed to get to safety. Petra took one last look at the no longer foreign world before stepping through the portal where it whisked her back to Endercon's alleys.

"Thank goodness you made it," said Lukas, "that's one heck of a scary place."

The netherrack was replaced with stone; the leading source of light was the sun and no longer the glowstone or lava. The color red was banished from Petra's sight, and she smiled with exuberance at what she had just accomplished.

"Yeah, I guess it is."

"You don't hesitate to fling yourself headfirst into danger do you?" Lukas asked. His tone was rather amused than accusing although it was still present in his stiffened jaw.

There wasn't even the asking of if she'd managed to kill the ghast, which disappointed Petra a little. This wasn't the first he was allegedly protective of her. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Is that not part of your code of conduct?"

"Erm. Excluding the formalities, we're just not used to people like you. It's not a bad thing though- it's just-" He cut himself off, rubbing the natural wing of his eye. "Please tell me first before you go to the nether."

Now things were really unclear. Petra's eyes narrowed, averting her currently quizzical gaze to Lukas's shoes. "I thought you already knew," she said. "You wanted me to go right?"

"What? No."

"Aiden told me to get blaze rods."

It came out of her lips before she could stop herself.

"By yourself?"

While there was an agitation that made Petra not want to sugarcoat how Aiden practically ditched her, she knew he and Lukas had each other's backs and were inseparable. "Well, he said he was going to come with but I think he forgot."

She was concerned that Lukas already knew where this was going. His own agitation was also directed toward Aiden, who wasn't even here. What made Petra think she was even more insane was the fact that she picked up admiration in the way the corner of Lukas's eyes were creased. It could be for her or- no. No ego. There's no possible way the ravishing Ocelot leader could ever appreciate her.

"Don't make excuses for him, Petra. He can be real pushy at times. I'll talk to him."

If there was one saying she would swear to live by, it was always 'expect the worst, hope for the best' because it's what she was doing throughout their entire journey back.

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