The Lion Sleeps Tonight - A Hermitcraft Fanfic

Happenstance

Entry number.

The vines won't stop growing. I keep having to pull one away from my mouth every time I try to speak to Julia. I don't know what to do, Julia doesn't know what to do, nobody else is offering up any ideas. 

I bet Etho would know. Or Doc. But they're gone now, and there's no changing that. I miss them. I miss them so much that it hurts to think about them. I don't tell anyone, not even Julia, but it's eating me from the inside, even more than the Jungle itself is.

How much longer until I'm gone, too?

Long live the Jungle,

BDoubleO100

..............................

Eventually, Doc and Ren got far enough away from the clearing that they considered it safe to pause for breath, even if only for a moment. After the two recovered, they looked around, trying to place where they were. Concerningly, given that Doc was familiar with the Jungle, they both came up empty.

"Well, surely if we retrace our steps, we can get back to camp." Ren suggested.

"In normal spacetime, sure." Doc dryly replied, shutting down Ren's plan quicker than it even got started.

The two wandered aimlessly for a bit, hoping the Jungle would be kind enough to give them a path back to camp. Doc scoffed at this idea, naturally: he'd experienced travel in the Jungle, but Ren cited their two groups meeting as proof of the Jungle being at least somewhat on their side this time around.

Mere seconds after that debate was resolved by Doc (huffily) acquiescing, Ren almost tripped over something. Something wrapped in vines, and half in the undergrowth. Curious, Doc looked in the bushes, and found what amounted to a vine-mummy. Concerned, he pulled the vines off the top of the head, and uncovered a mop of medium-brown hair. 

He and Ren worked to uncover the rest of the head, soon revealing a face that both knew too well, unconscious and barely breathing: Iskall. Doc gasped, and quickly dug through his inventory, pulling out something very precious indeed: the group's last healing potion.

"Cub, Scar, wherever you are," he muttered to himself, giving it to Iskall, "I hope you don't need any healing."

With that, Iskall slowly woke up, their organic eye fluttering open and their cybernetic one fading on. They looked at the other two, dazed, then, slowly pulling themself out of the cocoon, asked:

"What... just happened?"

Ren gave no reply, but pulled them into a relieved hug. Doc initally held back, but Ren beckoned him in too. No words needed to be exchanged to show how relieved Doc and Ren were that Iskall was, if barely, alive. Carefully, the two helped them get back up on their feet, and the trio began to try and find their way back.

"See, the Jungle is on our side!" Ren affirmed.

"Then... why kidnap me in the first place?" Iskall asked. Ren was conspicuously silent.

Sorry that the chapter is so short. I lost track of time (again). I also don't like the way this worked out. It feels contrived. Whatever. At least I didn't just gloss over it. Also, sorry to those that wanted a resolution on the Cub & Scar situation. You'll have to wait until Friday for that.

I've been Entropy, peace out from the present!