Karma (Sequel to An Old Friend)//Grumbo\\

7

Iskall ran up the spiral staircase and as his head poked out of the trapdoor, he saw a very disoriented Grian standing in the doorway, unsure of which way to run. Iskall pulled himself all the way out from the trapdoor and began to walk slowly toward his frightened friend, careful not to spook him. The floor creaked beneath his foot as he took another step and Grian turned quickly. He spotted the slow-moving man behind him and instantly began to run again, turning random corners. Iskall chased after him, only catching the tail end of a red sweater turning the corners. 

        "Grian please stop! I'm here to help! You're gonna get lost! Please just stop!" Iskall yelled between labored breaths, but Grian didn't slow down.

        "Just leave me alone!" Grian called back desperately. He continued to run as Iskall continued to chase after him before Grian was met with a door. All reason left him, and he ran through it. Iskall caught the end of the door closing and rushed inside. Grian stood just beyond the door, frozen in place. Iskall followed Grian's terrified stare to look at the room they had entered. Two small open cells stood tall in front of them, and Grian began to panic. He turned to run out of the door, but Iskall stood blocking it. He looked nervously down at Iskall's trident, that he didn't even remember he was holding. Iskall slowly placed it down behind him and held his hands up to show he was unarmed.

        "Hey, it's me. It's you friend Iskall. I'm not here to hurt you..." Iskall took a step toward him cautiously and Grian took a step away.

        "Stay away from me. I've seen this before. I won't let you hurt me again." Grian said with sudden confidence and anger, and Iskall spoke slowly.

        "Grian, I'm not here to hurt you. You're safe. Listen, I'm not sure what Sam did to you but-"

        "It's what you did to me!" He yelled, before running toward him and throwing a punch. Iskall blocked the swing and grabbed Grian's wrist to stop him from hitting him again.

        "Please, I don't want to fight you. Just come with me, and we'll get you out of here." Iskall pleaded, but Grian continued to fight. He kicked Iskall in the groin, causing him to let go of Grian and keel over. Grian instantly reached for the forgotten trident and held it in front of him. His hands shook as he pointed the tip of the trident at his friends face. Iskall got himself together and stood up, staring into the face of the trident. "Grian, please. I'm here to help." 

        "That's what you always say! I won't fall for it this time!" Grian took another step back, and without realizing he had done it, stood in the doorway of his old cell. Iskall noticed his position and realized what he had to do.

        "Grian, I'm really sorry about this. I really do want to help you, but I don't know what to do. We need to wait for Mumbo, so... I'm sorry." In his confusion, Grian slightly lowered the trident, and Iskall lunged at him. He grabbed the trident while also placing his hand on Grian's chest, using all of his momentum to shove him into the cell and unarming him. He landed on his back as Iskall shut the cell door. Grian was disoriented for a moment before all of the horrifying pieces came together in his mind. He was back in the cell he had been killed in over and over again. He began to hyperventilate and ran to the door of the cell. He shook the bars desperately hoping for them to open, beginning to cry and shake. 

        "No. No. NO. NO! PLEASE! NO!" He screamed as he shook the bars, and Iskall flinched in response. It hurt him to listen to his friend in such pain and knowing he was to blame. "Please! Iskall please let me out please!" Grian continued to yell and Iskall had to keep telling himself he was doing the right thing. He had a sudden thought that rattled his brain. He left Mumbo alone with Sam, and he didn't know enough about him to know whether it was a fair fight between them or whether Mumbo would make it out alive.

Yay more updates! The competition thing is still going on btw, I just was more productive than I thought I would be today. Also, I only posted this so that Wolves_All_Around would forgive me for the cliffhanger last chapter lol. Anyway, next chapter will be Mumbo vs. Sam so get ready for that. I am warning you though, if you've read this far or any other of my stuff, you know that I suck at writing fight scenes so... Anyway, this was a thing. I hope you enjoyed, even though it's slightly shorter than other updates. I hope you have a good day/night, and you are lovely.