Fractured Peace (Stardew Valley AU)

The Old Community Center

Sam knew he was not being as bright as his disposition. He knew his mother would not be happy. He knew the mayor would not be happy. Even as he climbed to the top of the old building, using a clump of thick vines that had clung to the walls for as long as he could remember, his friends were cautioning him. Well, Abigail's words were "This is going to look so cool, but shouldn't you practice first?" while Sebastian's were more along the lines of "You're going to die. You're going to fall off that roof, break your neck, and we'll have to tell your family you died because you wanted to do parkour on the roof of the community center."

Sam reached the top of the building, shaking, with his skateboard under one arm. He told himself it was from the three cans of cola he had earlier, and not the impending fall. "That sounds like an epic way to go out!"

"If you have nothing else to do with your life, sure." Sebastian looked over his shoulder. "Someone's going to come soon. Why are you even doing this in broad daylight?"

"Do you want to be the one to wake up the doctor when he falls?" Abigail asked.

"Touché."

"If!" Sam yelled from the roof, laying his skateboard on the ridge. "Not when! I'm taking my chance to go down in Ferngill Republic history!"

"Wait, maybe-"

Abigail's words were cut off by Sam's scream as he skidded across the roof, heading towards the edge. Just as he was about to make his leap to the ground, tiles slid out from beneath him. His skateboard jolted as the wooden beams underneath buckled, sending him falling into the newly formed hole in the roof.

.

.

.

The dense fog turning Sam's mind into a sluggish puddle was broken through by a sharp burst of pain from his knee.

"OW!" Sam jolted, only making the pain worse.

Doctor Harvey released the tweezers, dropping a large wooden splinter into a container. Sam awaited a lecture, but Harvey silently did his job, carefully pulling the shards out of his knee, which was now exposed by a jagged and bloody hole in his jeans. Try as he might to appear brave, Sam still found himself yelping as the wound was cleaned. He took note of his bandaged arm, glad the fogginess had not yet settled while that was being taken care of.

Harvey finally spoke. "Your friends went to tell your family what happened. Someone will probably be here soon."

Sam groaned. "Aw, so soon? I really don't want to face my parents now."

Harvey paused, giving Sam a hard look. "You can't do those antics and think there won't be any consequences."

"'Antics'? Come on, it was just a bit of fun. You only live once!"

If he had not taken an oath to never harm anyone, Sam swore Harvey would have twisted another splinter as it was pulled out. "That is the point! You only live once!"

"Don't you believe in Yoba and the afterlife?"

"I don't think Yoba would appreciate it if every person chose to dismiss the intelligence he gave them!" Harvey set the tweezers aside, and reached for the antibiotic. Defeated, Sam waited for the rest of his injuries to be treated.

His father Kent arrived shortly after. As was to be expected, the man was not too happy about what had happened. Granted, Sam was aware that he was not happy much anymore, not ever since he came back from the war. Sebastian and Abigail followed behind him, both much more amused.

"You'll have to try again later," Abigail whispered as Harvey and Kent talked to the side. Sebastian rolled his eyes, and he and Abigail began to help Sam walk to the clinic door.

"I want to, once I'm better!" Sam said.

Kent headed over to the three. "Are you Sam's friends? Jodi was wondering if you would like to come over for dinner."

"Sure!" Abigail chirped. Sebastian looked uncomfortable, but Sam was sure he could take a little more time out of his dark basement room.

As Kent talked with the doctor some more, Sebastian finally caved and began to help make a plan on how they could explore the inside of the community center first, to see if there were any interesting areas inside, and check for any weaknesses in the roof. His words trailed on, with some input from Abigail here and there. Sam looked back at his father, taking note of the concerned expression on his face. Harvey talked some more, and Kent clenched his fists. Hopefully there wasn't more to his injuries than he had thought.

"I'll tell you later, if I hear any more news," Harvey finished.

Everyone said their goodbyes, and the four made their way across the town center. Sam tried to walk on his own, but his leg could hardly carry any weight. That's going to hurt for a while.

He looked to his dad. "What were you talking about in there?"

Kent stared at the ground. His hands formed fists again. "Nothing-just about what's going on with you, that's all. You'll be fine. We'll all be fine."

Sam held back another question, trying to concentrate on his friends instead, as well as how he would explain what happened to his mom. His thoughts still rushed with theories about what was going on, but he told himself that it could not be that big, not in somewhere like Pelican Town.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello! I've been posting this on other websites for a while, but since I've been pretty inactive on Wattpad I've decided to post it on here as well!

Please note that since this is a war story there will be casualties, so don't get too mad at me.