Destiny (A Minecraft Youtuber Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Preston

I groggily dug my axe into the thick oak of the tree over and over until it crashed to the ground. Around me I saw glimpses of my friends as they went about their own business of collecting wood or beginning to mine. I knelt beside the fallen tree and ran my hand along the uneven bark. It felt so natural to be back in this world. Selfishly, I liked being here because it felt nice to be wanted. It was easy to get lost in my giant family and my parents never seemed to have quite enough time to spend a few moments with their middle son.

Here, though, I was important. The other members of The Pack would come to me for advice on fighting techniques or what we should do next. It felt nice.

After a moment of thought I began to cut up the wood and store it in my backpack. I took note of the long red stripe running down my jacket sleeve as I took it off and shoved it into my backpack. As I pulled my arm from the large bag, a glint of red on my wrist caught my eye. I turned my hand and drew it close to my face, trying to make out the mark in the dimming light.

It appeared to be a tattoo etched in dark red ink that looked like blood. Two swords crossed and encircled by a thin line. I was perplexed. I hadn't been tattooed last year.

I stood up slowly and came face to face with Rob.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" He asked.

I almost showed him the marking, but quickly drew back. I didn't know if this mark was good or bad. "Nothing," I answered nonchalantly. "Just hot."

"Lachlan found a cave. We're all going to go on a caving trip to get ourselves some good quality gear. You got a pick?"

"Just a wooden one. Can I borrow a stone?"

"Of course." Rob handed me a pickaxe. "Let's go before it gets dark."

I followed Rob to the others. My mind was still preoccupied with the small sword insignia on my wrist and I rubbed at it absentmindedly as we walked deeper and deeper into the cave.

----

We mined through the night and I was exhausted by the time we surfaced. However, the journey was not in vain. My backpack was filled to its capacity with iron, gold and even a couple diamonds. I collapsed in the tall grass and let the cool breeze blow across my face. I let my arms stretch to my sides and began to make grass angels.

"Hey, Preston," Jerome spoke. "What's that on your arm?"

I stopped moving immediately and sat up. I had completely forgotten about the strange design while we adventured underground. I looked at my wrist and then looked up at the others, who had formed a semicircle in front of me.

"I don't know. I noticed it when I took off my jacket earlier. I didn't want to tell you guys because I didn't know if it was good or bad and I was really worried that it would be bad." I looked straight at Rob as I spoke because I knew what was coming next.

"No secrets, Preston. You know that." Rob sounded disappointed in me and it hurt to have him speak to me like this. "If we keep secrets, we can't work together and if we can't work together, we can't win."

Rob acted tough because it was his job to keep the group in line. I let him reprimand me, but I didn't let it sink deeper than my skin because I knew he didn't really mean it. I was sure of this because he and I had been secretly dating since the end of last season, and that was a big secret to be keeping from our friends.

However his words did hurt because I was the one forcing him to keep it a secret, and once again it went back to my family. They were from Texas, I was from Texas, and Texas is not usually known as the most accepting place. My parents didn't even like Lachlan and Vikk's relationship and I was worried that they would disown me if they found out that their own son was gay. Although I trusted my friends to accept us, the more people knew, the more likely it would be for the information to slip.

I nodded at Rob. "I know. But what could this be?"

"I have one too!" Vikk said excitedly. He had removed his jacket and held out his wrist so that it rested beside mine. Two blood red swords encased in a ring.

Everyone tore off their jackets and looked at their wrists.

Rob spoke sternly once he glanced at his own wrist, "put your wrists in the center so everyone can see."

Standing in a circle, the others placed their arms beside Vikk and I and everyone went silent. Instead of four more red tattoos, they were different. Etched into Lachlan, Mitch and Jerome's skin was a small purple heart placed in the center of a peace sign. On Rob's wrist was an opened blue book, also ringed in a blue circle.

I had a feeling I knew what was going on and the fact that Rob and I had different tattoos made chills of fear and worry run down my spine.