Chapter 72: Reuben?

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by AST3RUSSY

by AST3RUSSY

The two were walking in the oak forest, the sun starting to set, Lukas carrying a lantern he found, his journal tucked into his bag and the quill in the journal. It was silent in the forest, except for the crunching of withered leaves and the disturbing breeze. "This place is oddly eerie..." Lukas noted. "I think that's being generous to just call this place eerie." Axel added, making Lukas chuckle.

Axel froze in his tracks, making Lukas confused. "You good?" Lukas asked, tapping his shoulder. "Hide!" Axel insisted, shoving Lukas into a bush with him. Lukas rubbed his head, feeling dizzy. Right as Lukas was going to say something, Axel immediately shushed him, making a small peephole in the bush. Lukas looked out of it, seeing why now they were hiding. It was an infected pig.

"Not even animals are safe." Lukas muttered. "Not just that, look at the pig more." Axel whispered. Lukas inspected it more. It had slightly darker spots covering him, the pitch black eyes, most of its hooves and up decaying, its jaw completely unhinged and gone.

It had a black eye too. It almost looked like... no, it couldn't be. "That isn't Reuben, right?" Lukas asked quietly. Axel frowned, looking back at the pig. "Everything fits. The spots, ears, tail, every singular thing on it." Axel explained. Lukas looked back at the pig, knowing how heartbroken Jesse would be.

He was so attached to Reuben. Jesse told Lukas it was because it was like an emotional support pet, the only person- or pig- he'd ever fully opened up too. They were best friends. "Jesse never found him at Endercon... did he?" Lukas asked softly, looking back at Axel. He nodded no.

"Looked all over, nothing. Reuben was gone. Jesse worried about him the moment the infection started. Back at the Order's temple, he was so paranoid."

Lukas frowned. He knew how that felt. Way too much. "What will we do now?" Lukas asked, trying to change the subject. "Well, got any carrots on you?" Axel suggested. Lukas nodded, pulling one out. "I was poking around in the safe place and found them." Lukas added. Axel chucked the carrot far away. Once it hit the ground, Reuben's head darted up, immediately running towards the source of the noise.

Axel stood up from the bush, Lukas doing the same after, brushing the leaves and twigs that caught on his clothes. Lukas turned the lanturn back on, following Axel. It was silent for a long while. What could they have said? They both knew what happened. After a bit, Lukas broke the silence. "So, what do we tell him?" Lukas questioned. "Tell who what?" Axel replied.

"Tell Jesse about... Reuben." Lukas explained. Axel sighed, looking at the ground. "It'll crush him if we told him. He'd been hoping by some miracle, Reuben survived. It was stupid, honestly... but it's what kept him going. But-" "Last time you didn't tell him..." Lukas remarked. "Look, I don't know." Axel admitted. Lukas looked at him with empathy. "Let's just... not talk about that right now, alright?" Axel requested. Lukas nodded.