Wither

Chapter 28-Insanity

"Lauren!" I gasped, fear coursing through me. I sprinted forwards through the enemies, but it wasn't a problem. They were frozen in terror and toppled over like dominoes. I saw a glint of blonde hair by a glowstone cluster, and the blinding light of Herobrine's eyes were close by. He held up a knife and I screamed, "Lauren, watch out!" A huge fireball appeared in my hand and I threw it at Herobrine. A perfect shot.

Suddenly, Lauren jumped in front of the fireball with her swords extended, ready for a killing blow. My fireball crashed into her and, in shock and pain, she tumbled from the sky. Agony erupted through me like a volcano exploding. I collapsed to my knees as I saw the image of my twin sister crashing from the heavens. A fallen angel, I thought to myself as a deluge of delirium spread through me.

Unsteadily I got to my feet and ran for the spot Lauren had landed. I found her, barely alive, in Dusty's arms, who was crying. I didn't blame him; sparks were cascading down my cheeks myself. "What did you do to her, Ember?" he whispered, clearly devastated. "What did you do to her?"

"I-I didn't-Herobrine, he was-it was all a mistake!" I cried. Lauren opened her blistered eye and started to sob.

"Nonononono, Lauren, it's okay, it's all going to be okay," Dusty wiped the earthy tears from his face. "Please just...just stay with me."

He got up and laid her gently on the ground. I noticed a crimson stain on his clothes and saw a gaping wound in her back. The breath left me and, horrified, I dropped to the ground. "What have I done?" I whispered.

I crawled over to Lauren, wanting to offer support, but Dusty scowled and aimed a swift kick at me. Weak, exhausted, and depressed, I didn't resist as his foot connected with my stomach. I let myself roll out of the way like a ragdoll.

***

"Dusty?" A small voice whimpered. I looked up from my haze of wretchedness and saw Lauren speaking. "I would like to speak with Ember."

"O-of course, Lee," he stumbled over his words and stepped away.

"Ember," Lauren said softly, rationally. "I know that was an accident; you would never purposefully throw a fireball at me. But you still did it. And I will never forgive you," her eyes took on a cold, unforgiving gleam. Then her body dissolved into code.

***

I woke up from my delirium with a start. Dusty was glaring at me with red-rimmed eyes. I looked away, ashamed, and rubbed the spot that his foot had hit my abdomen. Lauren was breathing shallowly in his arms, with no indication of speaking. I wiped my eyes and shakily got to my feet. "Dusty, I'm sorry," my voice sounded broken in my own ears, so I cleared my throat. "I would like to try and help...for once I can use my power for something other than devastation."

Dusty's eyes were alight with a slim bit of hope as he handed my sister to me.I set the bleeding, scorched girl on my lap and swallowed the bile in my throat. My hand glowed with white flames and I painstakingly lowered them onto Lauren's wound. Suddenly, she opened her bloodshot eyes and started to scream. Dusty's head whipped up and I assured him, "D-don't worry, it hurts the first time!"

But Lauren's screams were only intensifying, dissolving into shrieks and bouts of sobs. The gaping wound looked like it was getting bigger and bigger, worse and worse. Then it hit me: Lauren was not immune to fire like I was. I extinguished the flames in horror and her expression slackened. She groaned and fell to the floor. Her eyes opened and stared at me. I knew my normally silky red hair was a mess and there were black scorch marks running down my face. My eyes must be red and wild, and there was probably blood on my face - my God, there was blood everywhere!

"Dusty?" She cried softly. I knew I had made it worse. I knew I had destroyed any hope of her living. I knew her impending death was completely, entirely, positively my fault. Wordlessly I handed my twin to Dusty and sat, my arms around my knees, next to them.

Desperately Dusty lowered his mouth to her lips. His brown hair fell over his eyes, which I'm sure were tearstained. I watched until the pain was unbearable. I grabbed her hand and kissed it, overcome with love for my twin. Suddenly my lips were connected with nothing and a puff of code drifted away into the sky.

A strange noise emitted from Dusty's throat, a cross between a low scream and a wail. His head dropped to the Netherrack. I got up and placed my hand on his back. "C-come on...we need to fight. Fight for her."

"I can't go on...not anymore," Dusty moaned into the ground.

"Lauren wanted us to win and we can't do that without help. I need you to get up, Dusty," my voice cracked with pressure. "Please. I can't lead everyone. I'm not worth them."

"Fine. But only for Lauren, never again for you, Ember," Dusty growled and got to his feet. We were a fearful sight, him and I, dirty, bloody, and a complete mess. But we were determined as we could be, and with the death of Lauren we had something more powerful than determination: the thirst for revenge.