MCSM: Shattered Souls [COMPLETED]

24- In Which Death Is Not as It Seems

~Olivia's POV~

A lot of what I do is based on intuition. If something isn't quite right, I can usually tell.

So when I snapped awake in the middle of the night, three weeks after Jesse had gone missing, it was because I'd sensed something had gone wrong.

I sat up, tossing aside my blankets with one quick move and listening intently. The night was very quiet, no sounds from possible night creatures outside, no snores from my fellow Order members, nothing. And yet...

Pulling a warm red robe over my nightgown, I left my room and started for the stairs. All our bedrooms were on the second floor of our headquarters, and if anyone -or anything- was in here, they were probably after something in the treasure hall.

The only sound was my bare feet tapping down the stairs as I rummaged through my inventory for a torch. My heart pounded in time to my footsteps, and even though I was trying to convince myself that there was probably nothing wrong, I was losing the fight. Or winning it. Whatever.

My nervousness doubled as I entered the treasure hall. It was dark, but even in the low light I could tell that nothing was missing. I tapped the button on the wall that turned on the Redstone lamps, and my heart stopped for a second when I saw what was on the floor in the center of the room.

Jesse. 

Limbs spread gently out like she was sleeping, head resting on her right arm, armour absolutely covered in dried blood, with a shining white sword next to her fallen form. My breath caught, and I stifled a gasp of horror as my eyes found the dark pool beneath her. She may not have been dead yet, but she was going fast.

I ran towards her, dropping to my knees and planting the torch beside me. It felt like my heart was trying to pound its way out of my ribcage, and I could hardly breathe. Jesse. My best friend, my closest companion, the Order member who'd disappeared three weeks ago because of her own choice. 

"Jesse...Jess, oh my Notch, can you hear me?" I murmured, gently rolling her onto her back and reeling away at the horrific sight of the hole in her side.

My breath came in weak gasps, but I sucked in a lungful of air and screamed as loud as I could, "Guys...GUYS! AXEL! PETRA! LUKAS! GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

"What?!" I heard Petra call back.

"IN THE TREASURE ROOM, QUICK!"

The sound of doors slamming and footsteps pounding down the stairs preceded the other three Order members bursting into the treasure hall. Petra had her sword out, but immediately dropped it when she caught sight of me and Jesse.

"Liv, what...OH MY NOTCH PLEASE TELL ME THAT'S NOT JESSE!" Axel bellowed.

"What happened?! How'd she get here?!" Lukas exclaimed, scrambling over to sit beside me.

"I don't know! I just...I woke up, and something didn't seem right, and I came down here and found her like this!" I rambled as Axel dropped down on the other side of her. He gently touched the dark curl on her forehead, hands shaking as though he wasn't sure if she was real.

Petra was already running out of the room again, calling back "I'll go get a healing potion!"

Handing me a pink Potion of Regeneration, Lukas hesitantly touched the wound in her side. "Not a stomach wound, thank Notch. I wish Ivor hadn't left town..."

I lifted her head onto my lap, and gasped again when her eyes fluttered ever so slightly. Her left hand twitched, drawing Axel's attention.

"Where did all this blood come from? It can't have been hers...well, maybe the stuff on her gloves is from her, but all over her legs and chest...?"