The Nether (Merome) *Short story*

Chapter 5

Warnings: None

     ~Jerome's P.O.V.~

Because of my knee all I can do is standby and watch but dang, Mitch is going all out on that thing! Mitch struggles on the head of the ghast, the ghast bucking wildly and shooting fireballs in pretty much every direction. It shrieks and I jump behind a small pile of netherrack so shield myself from the fireballs, palming my axe should the need arise to use it. Mitch yanks on the lead and makes the ghast turn but fails to actually tame it. With another shriek the ghast starts flinging itself against the walls, trying to crush Mitch. But every time Mitch manages to escape being squashed and continues on his battle. After an eternity of screeches, projectiles, and tugging Mitch gives it one last tug and the ghast stops flailing.

"BOOM, BABY!" He shouts in victory, pumping a fist into the air.
"That was epic Mitch! Didn't I tell you it would work?"
"I guess you did Jerome... I guess you did. Now do you think you can manage getting on top of this hill so I can get you on this thing?"
"Possibly..."

Using my axe to prop myself up I limp heavily over towards the small hill, eyeing the ghast cautiously. Grunting I pull myself up and Mitch directs the ghast close to the ground beside me, kneeling and leaning over its head. He extends his hands forwards and I reach out, both of us gripping each other's forearms.

"Alright jump up on the count of three. One, Two, Three!"

I obediently hop up Mitch leans back with his full body weight, dragging me onto the ghast head with minimal difficultly. After getting properly seated Mitch gently pats the ghast on the head and guides it slowly over the open lava. And now even though we have a nice vantage point of our surrounding areas there is one problem... Heat rises. Up here on the ghast, directly above lava, the heat waves pulse through the air. Within a minute my throat begins to feel scratchy and dry, and I'm sweating even more. Especially with thick fur I'm absolutely miserable. But to take my armour off would pretty much result in instant death so I suffer in silence.

     Mitch drives the ghasts around, first heading back the way we came, in hopes of finding the portal. I can tell he's not doing too well either, seeing the beads of sweat across his forehead, his soot stained face, and the way he's breathing rather unevenly. I close my eyes halfway, slumping down and trying to keep my temperature down. Suddenly a ball of fire is whizzing in front of my face, literally burning off the tips of my fur. My entire life flashes in front of my eyes. I scream and slide back, forgetting I'm on top the head of a ghast. So before I can regain my balance I find myself sliding off... and falling towards lava straight below. I scrunch my eyes shut, preparing for searing pain to engulf me and end my life. That is till I hear a shout from Mitch.

     "Catch him!"

     In an instant something long and thick is coiling around my torso, and my fall is abruptly stopped. I creak open an eye to see the white tentacle of our ghast gripping tightly under my arms, and I'm only a few meters above the lava. Mitch peeks over the ghast, a horrified expression on his face. But when he sees me his frown turns upside down and he sighs happily, holding a hand to his face. He pulls away his hand gazing back down at me.

     "Are you okay Jerome?" He questions worriedly.

     Before I can respond my words are drown out by the shriek of a ghast... And it's not ours. Our ghast turns to face a second ghast about one hundred meters away, growling and waving it's appendages. It screeches and shoots another fireball but Mitch lashes the ropes and our ghasts shoots one right back, the two fireballs meeting mid air and exploding with such a great force Mitch is almost thrown off our ghast.

     "DANGIT!" Mitch shouts, ducking as another fireball soars over his head.

     Mitch whips the lead again and our ghast begins returning fire, but every fire ball misses the opposing ghast and vice versa.

     "This isn't working Mitch!" I declare, the ghast pulling me away from a low shot fire ball... Probably directed at me.
     "I can see that!"
     "Try strafing around it!"

     Mitch complies and our ghast starts circling the other ghast, eventually landing a fire ball directly to its face. With a whine and a hiss the ghast limply tumbles from the air and disintegrates in the lava below.

     "Good thinking Jerome! But I'm just glad that wasn't you burning..."
     "Well thanks to our ghast here I'm not. Do you think we should land and rest? I don't know about you but I'm super tired and I wanna shed this armour so I don't roast."
     "Yeah... And then our ghast can rest."

     Mitch pulls on the lead and directs out ghast to a nearby ledge. It floats close to the ground and Mitch slides off before the ghast gently sets me down beside him, letting me lean on his shoulder once again. After Mitch helps me limp over to a spot where I can sit down he walks back over to the ghast.

     "Thank you for saving him, you can have a rest now." He coos, stroking the ghast affectionately.

     It purrs and settles down nearby. Mitch returns and without hesitation we start stripping off our amour. After setting my helmet to the side, I sigh in content at the immediate coolness from not having bulky armour.

     "Ahhhh that's feels so much better!" I breathe in content, leaning back.
     Mitch nods, "I feel you."
     "So what now? After we're attacked by that ghast I couldn't keep track of what way we were heading... For all I know we could be going the complete wrong way."
     "You're right... Well... I guess we'll just have to find out and see, won't we? I mean if worse comes to worse we can always look for a nether fortresses. It should me much cooler in there and then we can conserve our water better."

     I gaze off into the distance, picking out the faint outline of a large structure. I smirk glancing sideways at Mitch.

     "You mean like the one over there?"
     Mitch follows my gaze before smiling, "Like the one over there."
     "Alright so that's where we'll head next. But as for the time being I really feel like sleeping. We might have been here for a day already... But since there isn't a sun I can't really tell. Either way we have a ghast as a bodyguard and I'm about to fall asleep anyways."
     "I'm drowsy too, so I guess this is goodnight... Even if it's the middle of the day back above."

     I chuckle and roll on to my side, curling up and promptly drifting asleep. I just hope everyone's not too worried about us...

~~~