MCSM: Hold On (Collab)

Chapter 2

Written by: FanfictionalWarrior
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Darkness. That's quite literally, what the world had become. Just darkness and shadows, the air heavy with misery.

The land was barren, dust and dirt replacing what once was grass. Dried up stumps of wood now taking the places of large trees. Where the sky once was, there was now only bedrock.

As the lack of sunlight caused the plants to wither, the animals became more scarce. Almost no life visible for miles. Almost.

Two figures were were slowly moving through the barren landscape, along the dry ground that used to be a luscious field. One of them was holding a torch for light, its flames faintly flickering and threatening to go out at any second. The other one carried a bag over their shoulder, slightly hunched forward as they walked.

"How much further is this place?" The one with the bag asked.

The other one turned their head to face him, the light from the torch falling on their face. It revealed their shoulder length red hair, pulled back with a slightly battered blue bandanna.

"Not much further, Lukas. We'll be there soon, assuming we don't run into anything." Petra said with a shrug, turning to face forwards again.

"Everything looks so different." Lukas muttered, glancing around. "No matter how long it's been, I..." He took a deep breath. "I still can't get over what this place has become."

"Mmm." Petra hummed in agreement. "You get used to it when you're on the surface every day, take it from me. You have it lucky."

Lukas only nodded in response. He had been spending most of his time underground, trying to keep crops alive with artificial lights and underground water streams. They'd even herded together any animals they could find, trying to keep them safe in the underground structures. Success had been little, but it was there.

Petra wasn't underground much, despite it having been her idea to start with. Their whole hidden base had been built in a ravine found below her old mining cave. The warrior herself was above ground for most of the time. Scavenging for any remaining resources, and trying to keep the increased mob population at bay with the help of some other people.

"How have things been going down there?" Petra spoke up, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Not great, not terrible." Lukas replied, adjusting the bag he was carrying. "The glowstone has kept some plants alive, but it's just not enough. We're thinking of switching out to redstone lamps, see if they're any better. I have my doubts."

Petra shook her head, muttering a few curses under her breath.

"What about up here?" Lukas asked. "Jack mentioned something about the mobs getting quite out of hand."

"With no daylight to burn them, they do come in ridiculous amounts." Petra said, frowning. "But it's not the amount of mobs that are the problem."

"What do you mean?" Lukas asked curiously.

"Just this morning I killed something that looked like it was meant to be both a cave spider and an enderman." Petra replied dryly. "Wherever Romeo is, he's having fun with creating new ways to make our lives hell. Weird mutations and hybrids... the place is full of them."

"Just great." Lukas muttered with a sigh. He looked around slightly, subconsciously afraid that something frightening would come out of nowhere.

"Look." Petra said, giving Lukas a nudge with her elbow. She pointed into the distance with the torch she was carrying. "There it is."

Lukas turned his head to follow her gaze, his eyes too coming to rest on a distant structure. Small buildings, mostly built out of cobblestone and some other materials. Surrounded by a very patchy wall, large stone gates.

"Come on." Petra said when Lukas didn't speak, gesturing for him to follow her as she picked up the pace slightly. Lukas didn't object, adjusting the bag again and swiftly following Petra.

A figure moved up on the wall, disappearing from view as Petra and Lukas stepped up to the gates. Probably a lookout.

Sure enough, it was only seconds before the stone gates opened a mere crack.

"Here." Lukas said, cutting straight to the point as he slipped the bag off his shoulder and held it out. "These supplies should keep you guys running for the month."

A hand reached out, taking the bag from Lukas. Soon followed by a grateful sounding 'thank you', before the gates closed again.

"Well that was quick." Lukas mumbled.

"It had to be, we can't hang around here." Petra replied, promptly turning around and starting to walk in the direction they came from. "Let's get you back to the base."

Lukas looked back at the small settlement one last time, before jogging slightly to catch up with Petra again.

"Where are you heading after this?" Lukas asked her, shoving his cold hands into his pockets for some warmth.

"I'm probably going to meet back up with Jack and the others." Petra replied. "See how the mob control is going, stuff like that. You know, the usual nowadays."

Lukas nodded thoughtfully. "If you want, Petra, you could come down to the base with me for a bit? I'd like to hear what you think of it, see what we've done with the place. Maybe drop an opinion if you have any."

Petra hesitated, scratching the back of her head with her free hand. "Maybe." She replied. "It's not really my area of expertise. Usually the one you'd have to show this stuff to is..." She stopped herself, trailing off.

"Think about it." Lukas said, earning just another nod from the redhead.

They were silent for the rest of the walk.

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It was cold and dark. Through the endless amount of hours she's been there, her eyes still haven't grown used to the darkness. Her armour battered and broken down to shards, unable to provide warmth to her any longer.

Her legs useless dangling beneath, her feet not having touched solid ground in what felt like years. The chains that had her suspended in mid air nearly indestructible.

Eyes closed, tangled strings of brown hair dangling in her pale face. Very shallow breaths leaving her mouth being the only indication that Jesse was still alive.

The once strong leader, looked nothing but broken as she dangled over a seemingly bottomless void. Skin so pale, it was almost white, blood coating her remaining armour and clothes.

But then her eyes opened.

Irises almost slightly faded, her gaze almost lifeless. However, there was still fight in her eyes. Very little, but it was there nonetheless.

She hasn't given up. Yet.

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A/N: Sorry guys, this was supposed to come out yesterday, but life happened. :)

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you all in a week for the next one!