WITHERSICKNESS [MCSM INFECTION AU]

Chapter 61: BoomTown

Jesse was acting way different from what he was before he got infected. He was awfully paranoid, in a constant state of fear by Ivy’s warning. “Are you sure you're okay?” Axel questioned. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just terrified. Just... I don’t want to hurt anymore than I did.” Jesse answered, smiling reassuringly. “What do you mean ‘hurt’?” Axel asked.

“I... All I knew was that I was taken and kept getting experimented on. It left multiple burns. I finally know what Ivor was doing all along.” He shuttered, clearly traumatized. Axel noticed that Jesse didn’t know who it was that did this to him. He didn’t mention any person when talking about it, other than comparing it to what Ivor did. “By the way, where’s Olivia?” Jesse continued.

Axel went silent. “I... s-she’s back where Ivy, Jessica, and Lukas are.” Axel admitted. “Maybe I can try and talk to her.” Jesse smiled. It just hurt to see how he didn’t realize the differences between Olivia and the person who hurt him. There was none. “Olivia’s gone.” Axel muttered. “What do you mean?” Jesse asked again. “She’s gone insane. She isn’t herself anymore.” Axel repeated, showing the taser scars.

“Did she...” Jesse began, horrified. “Mhm. She’s changed. She’s nothing but an insane sociopath. I bet it wouldn’t be too far off to call her a psychopath.” Axel scoffed. “What happened to her after the ‘incident’.” Jesse asked.

“Don’t know, no one does. All that we know is that she went insane after it. Hell, even before we went to Olivia’s base, we bumped into her, and she nearly killed Jessica by burning her and spraining her wrist. Luckily, she didn’t get much of a chance to, but still.”

Jesse stayed silent for a second. “You know that she was the one who used the gunpowder, right?” Axel answered. “What?” Jesse asked, shocked. “Yeah, she thought you were long gone. Hell, I don’t even think she knows you're alive from being locked in the closet.” Axel added. “Wait, you locked her in a closet!?” Jesse questioned. “She was feral. Literally. She attacked me twice for no reason. Hell, she threatened Lukas more than once.” Axel replied.

“Jeez... I’ll check on her after we get this Dragon’s Breath, or whatever.” Jesse insisted. “What!? Jesse, are you insane!? She can kill you, not to mention, she doesn’t even know you're ALIVE!” Axel argued. “I know, but I’ll be careful. I’ll have my sword on me.” Jesse answered. Axel was about to add something but stopped himself. “Just, don’t get yourself even more hurt. Those burns were already horrid.” Axel sighed.

“I’ll make sure I don’t.” Jesse smiled. It was silent between the two for a second. “When do you think we’re going to go across traders?” Jesse asked. “Soon, but the chances of getting Dragon’s Breath is impossible. If anything, we might have to go and get it from the end where Soren could have kept it, or Ivor’s base, which is a bad idea.” Axel pointed out.

Jesse thought for a few seconds. He snapped his fingers. “Didn’t you say Magnus had some potions in BoomTown?” Jesse asked. Axel immediately went quiet when Magnus was mentioned. “Y-yeah. But it’s a literal danger zone there! That’s why we escaped. The image of some of those griefers being infected is still in my head.” Axel admitted. “Well, we can just sneak in.” Jesse added.

“Jesse, you have to be careful. I know I’m not the BEST people to be giving this advice, but still. Like Ivy said, people would kill you just to get a possible cure. Not to mention, the infected in BoomTown are MUCH more dangerous than the ones here. I don’t want to lose you again because of my stupidity.”

“Axel, it wasn’t your fault, I don’t blame you.”

“I know, but still. None of this would have happened if I didn’t steal that damn potion! Ivor was right, I AM the cause of this. But I’ll fix it, and I don’t need to lose you again.”