Concealed - Jesse X Reader: Minecraft Story Mode

Chapter 22 (PREVIEW)

Thank you to the 15 people who voted on a choice. It seems we had 10 people choosing to SPARE Max and 5 people choosing to KILL him. Very interesting how a lot of you decided that his even his life matters in the story. I wonder if sparing him will give you the ending you hoped for. Well, only one way to find out because there's no turning back now. Let's hope the choice you made was thought out. (I might allow you to see what ending you would've gotten if you chose to kill Max). Sorry for this chapter being short and how long this took to come out. I just finished making a timeline for the choice you guys made.

"No".

"What?".

"I won't do it", my eyes shifted to the side, "I am not a killer. Everyone is staying alive, no-one is dying". The distress flashed in Max's eyes as he narrowed his brow. The colour in his eyes dimmed more than they were originally were as he slumped his body forward, still hooked to the wall. "And I thought you were smart...", his low tone voiced muttered, "You're actually willing to put the lives of so many people at risk, just to prove that you aren't like Herobrine".

I felt an excessive, anxious aura in me. I felt rugged, tired and all I wanted was to close my eyes and wake up at home like this was a vivid nightmare I struggled to wake up from. No, I'm not going to second guess my choices. "I'll give you one last chance to get rid of me and save yourself a lot of heartache", Max persuaded me. The moment he finished talking, I shook my head, stubbornly, "I just hope by letting you live...You'll reconsider the side you're on". He's horrible and ruthless, without a doubt, but that doesn't take away his right to live. I made a decision and I wasn't going back on it.

A faint sound was suddenly heard in the hallway, that shocked me. I peered through the gap of the door, noticing the guards at the end of the shadowy foyer. My mind stepped away, wondering if Jesse and the others were ok. I glanced back is uncertainty, I needed a plan. I couldn't count on the Order to strategise for me and get me out of trouble this time. I was on my own and I didn't want to just rush into something. "You just going to space out?", I heard Max's voice from behind me, followed by a burning cough.

Come on, think! What would Jesse do in this situation? He wouldn't think twice about anything, he'd look around and choose the first thing he could see and make a plan out of it. My eyes darted all over the room until something caught my eye. A crafting table with a recipe book on top. I approached it, picking up the book and flipping through it, mostly skim reading until I landed on a certain page that gave me an idea.

"Whatcha doing there?", Max's curious stares we adding more apprehensive weight on my back as I searched through the chest for materials. Iron, a red banner, this plan sounded insane. But, sometimes the craziest ideas are the only ones that end up working. I used the crafting table, noticing Max peering over my shoulder as I placed the different materials into the slots on the table. I slipped into the armour I crafted, as the metal was weighing me down. This was a lot heavier than I thought. But the pressure kept adding up as I slipped on metal leggings and the iron headgear that concealed every part of my face except my eyes. Max chuckled in humour, "There's a fine line between being crazy and being a genius". I faced him and even though my face was covered by the mask, I knew he could see how aggravated I was getting. "It seems I'm getting under your skin. Are you--".

At that point, my patience was running out like a rapid hourglass. I hardly had a chance to think about my actions as I was so sick of all this chaos and I needed nothing more than for the universe to give me a moment of peace. My lips were pressed into a thin line, and before I could restrain myself, I lifted my hand and lashed it across Max's face. The smash when I touched his skin, the pulsing pressure that I felt on my hand, was even worse than I expected it to be. Max's head was twisted to the side, his face was flared red, absolutely raw. Suddenly, I felt shame and surprised. At first, Max didn't move, so I started to panic. Why did I do that? I didn't mean to do that! Is he dead? Suddenly, he started to smile again, giving me a peculiar, relieving feeling.

I muttered, shamefully, "Please...Just, stop talking".