a lump in the throat

Chapter 5

[joehillssays whispered to Evil_Xisuma and ZombieCleo: Sorry it's on such short notice, but Xisuma's doing admin stuff on the main island tonight, want to watch the stars?]

[ZombieCleo whispered to Evil_Xisuma and joehillssays: yeah! can i bring cake?]

[joehillssays whispered to Evil_Xisuma and ZombieCleo: Absolutely!]

[Evil_Xisuma whispered to joehillssays and ZombieCleo: I'll bring the blankets and a present.]

[ZombieCleo whispered to Evil_Xisuma and joehillssays: ooh a present? is it for me?]

[Evil_Xisuma whispered to joehillssays and ZombieCleo: More for Joe, but I think you'll like it too.]

[ZombieCleo whispered to Evil_Xisuma and joehillssays: :D]

Ex smiled and carefully packed his poetry journal into the shulker box with the blankets. He'd finished Joe's poem - it wasn't like anything else he'd ever written, but he was pretty proud of it. It seemed so much lighter and flowy than the rest of his poetry, and he hoped Joe would like it as much as he did.

Joe met him at his Nether portal. "I heard you had a present for me?"

"You have to wait," said Ex. "I want to show it to you guys while we're stargazing."

"Then let's go stargaze!"

They hopped through the portal and started making their way to Joe's hermitage.

"Cleo's on her way now," said Joe. "She'll probably get there a little later, because she's bringing a cake and she doesn't want to mess it up."

As the hermitage came into view, Ex saw a figure standing outside the entrance.

"Or maybe she won't be late," said Joe. He waved.

They landed, and Ex put down the shulker box to wave to Cleo. But it wasn't Cleo that was waiting for them.

"Joe!"

"Xisuma!" Joe exclaimed.

The blood drained from Ex's face. Xisuma's eyes locked onto Ex's. Neither wore their helmet, so Xisuma's eyes bored directly into Ex's own. Ex knew what Xisuma was going to do before he did.

In a flash, Xisuma summoned his command screens. Ex closed his eyes and threw up his arms in front of his face like it was a physical blow he could defend against. A swipe of Xisuma's fingers. Being swept away. Blistering, unbearable heat.

And he opened his eyes.

[Banned Evil_Xisuma]

Ex screamed such a horrible, gut-wrenchingly agonizing scream that nearby ghasts responded as if he were one of their own. He fell to his knees and banged his fists on the ground. Jagged, unweathered Netherrack sliced open the skin of his hands. His blood blended in with the red rock.

He screamed again but choked halfway through, and it turned into a sob instead. Fat, ugly tears rolled down his cheeks. Some gathered at the corners of his lips and others slipped off his chin to mix with his blood on the ground.

Ghasts responded to his scream again, and it was like a victory cry from his prison come to life.

Ex gasped and he sat up suddenly. Joe! He could call Joe!

But as he reached for his communicator, his hand stalled. Something didn't add up. Joe had assured him that Xisuma was trying to fix a bug or something on the main island. Why had Xisuma been at Joe's base?

Dread crept in through the back of his mind. An explanation was beginning to unravel - a painful explanation, to be sure, but it was the only reasonable conclusion he could draw.