Six Stone Souls (The Pack)

Chapter 20

Warnings: Blood, almost a character death so I guess trigger warning? Idk lol

~Preston's P.O.V.~

     I fight desperately to keep my temperature down, so I don't burn Vikk or Mitch as they try to fix my side. Dang... I just got revived, and now part of me is stone again... I find myself thinking sadly, pain raking through my body. The healing potion washes down my side, and instantly the pain is gone. Luckily, the stone is in places where I'll still be able to move freely. I'm about to stand up and go help Jerome and Lachlan fight the wither, when a scream rips through the air, followed by an explosion and a thud.

     Lachlan freezes. Mitch freezes. Vikk freezes. I freeze. Even the Wither freezes, but with a smirk opposed to our shocked expressions. There, sprawled in the sand a few blocks away, is Jerome. He's curled up on his side, a puddle of blood forming under him, and black particles floating off of his body. It only takes a few seconds for things to click in place, and I realize what happened, seeing the explosion marks in front of Mitch. Mitch didn't see the wither skull coming towards him... And Jerome jumped in the way... To save him. And Vikk just used his last healing potions on me...! No... This can't be happening!

     "J-Jerome?" Mitch chokes out, tears pricking at his eyes.

     I watch in a daze as Mitch scrambles to Jerome's limp, yet slightly quivering, form. Lachlan, in pure disbelief, plops down on the ground, staring blankly at Jerome... Even though the wither is less than ten blocks away. Vikk is crying now too, and he slowly makes his way over to Mitch and Jerome. And as for myself... A primal fire lights up.

     "Jerome isn't dead... He can't be!" I fume, rising to my full height.

     I glare at the wither, floating there all full of itself. It knows what it did. I can feel the anger inside of me flare up, and instantly my skin glows bright and hot.

     "You." I jab a finger at the mob, angry hot tears spilling down my cheeks. "IM GOING TO TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!"

     And then I can feel myself changing. My lava skin wavers, and starts to shift and reform into something different. That's right... My ability... I can turn into any other mob besides the wither or Enderdragon! I remember, feeling my skin bubbling and shifting. Heh, let's try and see that motherfudger hit a tiny little bat. I smirk, feeling myself shrink, and two wings sprouting from my back.

     Then, with a furious little cry, I fly at full speed towards the boss mob, spires of fire shooting at its undead face. Lachlan seems to find his spark again, and he turns back invisible, geysers of water blasting the mob. Together Lachlan and I pummel the mob, since it can't hit either of us successfully. We trash it, slapping with fire and water, fire and water, until it is nothing more than a nether star in the sand.

Exhausted, I morph back into my normal self, doubling over and panting heavily. Lachlan fades back into view, slumped on the ground, and panting with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. And finally to rid myself of the ounce of anger left, I scoop up the nether star and spit on the ground where the wither died, as a last action to show my hatred for it. With that done and over with, I glumly stride over with Lachlan to where Jerome still lay, Mitch cradling his head on his lap, and Vikk checking over his wounds and for a pulse.

"Is he okay...?" Lachlan asks Vikk quietly, just above a whisper.
Vikk shakes his head, "I don't know."

I rest a comforting hand on Mitch shoulder, who is still lightly sobbing, tear tracks staining his his face form his red puffy eyes. Now that I'm closer, I can better see the beating Jerome took. Of course, his shirt is still off too, which sucks since it might have provided at least a little bit of protection.

It looks like he took the blast head on, since a large portion of his fur on his stomach and chest area is blackened, due to the explosion. A large gash travels all the way from his right shoulder, down to his left hip, blood staining the surrounding fur and pooling inside the wound, most of it dropping to the sandy ground. A short but deep round gash sinks into his left forearm, in which he probably used to try and protect himself. One of his midnight black claws is broken hallway to his finger, the keratin nail breaking off in rough splinters. The sand under him is stained with blood, and overall it's a very depressing bloody sight that makes my stomach twist. The black particles signifying the wither effect no longer float off him, yet his face is still contorted in pain.

Vikk presses two fingers under his jaw, feeling for a pulse. The three of us hold our breaths as Vikk closes his eyes, concentrating. He opens them slowly, urgency flashing in his eyes as the sun begins to dip down past the horizon.

"He's still alive!" Vikk exclaims, all of us perking up. We thought he was a goner for sure. "But we need to get him attention, fast! I don't know how long he can last losing this much blood!" Vikk relays.
Mitch eyes light up with hope and confidence. "Vikk and Lachlan! You two clean up Jerome and try to stop the blood flow! Lachlan use your powers to clean out the blood and sand, and Vikk use Jerome's tie to wrap up his arm and the rest of his clothing to stop some of the blood! Preston, you and I are going witch hunting."

Everyone explodes into action, Vikk and Lachlan swiftly trying to save Jerome while Mitch and I dash off in the night, keeping out eyes peeled for any sign of a witch.

Mitch tosses me his bow, and an iron sword. I mainly use my fire powers anyway, but the extra weapons don't hurt to have just in case.

Don't worry Jerome... We'll get you a healing potion.

~~~

By sunrise we only manage to pry a single potion off a witch, so worn out and tired from fighting all night, we start jogging back to everyone else, praying one potion is enough to save Jerome.

"Lachlan! Catch!" Mitch calls, taking a risky move and tossing the potion to Lachlan.

Luckily Lachlan catches it, and he immediately pours the hot pink liquid down Jerome's throat, Vikk holding his mouth open. Mitch and I breathe heavily, my heart pounding as the four of us watch in anticipation for anything to tell us Jerome is okay.

Vikk removes Jerome's coat, which he used to patch up the gash on his torso, to see if the healing potion did much to help. To our delight, the gash has subsided to the point where it is only running across his chest, opposed to along his entire body. The bleeding has stopped too, and Vikk reveals his forearm, to show us the wound there has practically vanished. And the best sign of all, is the slow steady rise and fall of Jerome's chest.

Upon seeing this, happy tears tumble down all of our faces, relived Jerome is not dead. Mitch falls to his knees beside Vikk and Lachlan, hugging Jerome's unconscious form lightly.

"Thank Notch..." He whimpers, "You're okay."

~~~

Question of the chapter:

Well... How did you guys react to this? I'm genuinely curious.

My answer: If I was someone reading this story, I might have cried. Too bad I wrote it haha

Also, of course, #Merome. #Merome4dayz