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It was a day like any other. The sun was shining brightly outside, a soft breeze made the high grass in the fields dance, with the song of the birds orchestrating their performance. A day you’d want to spend outside, enjoying the way nature seemed to thrive. And that’s exactly what they did. Well, not really.
Through the high grass stalked two people, staying close to the ground and each other. They had a dark green mask on to protect them from the grass tickling their noses, and to protect their anonymity. They weren’t exactly supposed to be seen. Nobody knew who they were, and nobody knew their name. Their friends, though, knew them as Juice and Sweet. And they were on the hunt.
“Do you think we’re going too far?” Sweet whispered to Juice, looking around to check if they were alone.
“Don’t worry,” Juice whispered back. “I’ve seen the maps, we should be good. Wait, there!” Sweet looked to see where Juice was pointing, and saw a beautiful doe. A big grin spread across Sweet’s face. That would be enough to feed them for at least a day or two.
Without making a single sound, Juice lifted a crossbow from her back. Upon seeing the engraved letters, Sweet couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “Did you steal Bailey’s again?” Juice grinned mischievously. “I’d call it ‘borrowing without permission’.” Sweet gave Juice a playful shove. “Dude, he’s gonna kill you!” she hissed. “You know how attached he is to that thing!” They shared a quiet laugh though.
A deep breath, a trigger pulled, and a well-aimed shot. The doe collapsed to the ground. If there’s one thing Juice was good at, it’s hunting. Okay, there were a lot of things she’s good at, but those are kind of irrelevant to this situation. Sweet quickly tied the doe’s legs together and using a long pole they carried their kill back home.
They were just chatting away when a blinking silver knife flew past Juice’s head. It should’ve startled them, but Juice calmly reached up to their now bleeding ear, an annoyed look on their face. Sweet shot a glare towards the direction the blade had come from.
“What the hell, Bailey!” they called out, pulling down their mask.
“It wasn’t me!” an offended scoff returned. “I fully condone it, but it wasn’t me. It was Sword.”
“Sorry, I thought you were an anti,” another voice sounded, but it was clear he was lying. Sweet rolled their eyes with a grin, and lifted the pole back on their shoulder.
As they entered the cave, Bailey stopped Juice by grabbing her shoulder. He raised an eyebrow and held up his other hand.
“I believe you have something of mine,” he simply spoke.
“Hm?” Juice hummed innocently.
“Where the hell is TEX?”
“Oh yeah, can I borrow this?” Juice asked, pulling out the crossbow again. Bailey immediately pulled it from her hands and strapped it to his back, scoffing.
“Or not,” Juice shrugged. “I asked nicely.”
“Were you seen?” Bailey asked as the four of them walked down the stairs that led to their underground home.
“There seemed to be some movements to the east side,” Sweet reported. “It’s unlikely they’ve seen us, but they do appear to be getting closer.” Bailey nodded.
“Sword, take Gabby for a scout of the terrain,” he ordered. “We need to be absolutely sure that they do not find us. I’ll make sure that Chaz knows, too. Should things go south, he’s our best bet.” Sword responded with a simple nod, running off to get Gabby. Juice followed after, determined to get to Chaz before Bailey did. Bailey quietly picked up the side of the pole Juice had put down.
“Sweet, I’m worried,” Bailey sighed. “You know I’m always open for new members, but with the Anti closing in again, I just… I don’t want history to repeat itself.”
“I know,” Sweet nodded compassionately. “But our family is safe here. We can trust each other, and you know we’ll always have your back. It’ll be okay.”
“Thanks, Sweet,” Bailey smiled, glancing over. “You know what, you’re right. I mean, nothing bad has happened since Z and Loven joined, what do we have to fear?” He faced back forward again to push back a long, thick curtain that hung in the hall. You wouldn’t notice it was a curtain unless you knew it was there; it was perfectly camouflaged.
“Let’s give this doe a better place,” Bailey said, before stepping through.
As soon as they stepped past the curtain, it was like you entered a different world. The long, dimly lit hallway was immediately forgotten and left behind, and was replaced by a bright, warm place. The sun never reached this far underground, but it was never truly missed. Bright torches lit up the walls, and paintings gave the place a homely atmosphere. As it should, really, because it was their home.
It had been two months since the survivors had moved into the large underground cave, but if you looked at it you would never guess it had been empty such a short time ago. People were happily chatting away, playing games or chasing after each other. Nearly everyone raised their hand as a greeting as Sweet and Bailey walked by. They may all have come from different places, but Sweet hadn’t lied when they called the group a family. They were all they had, and they were there for each other. A closer friendship had never been found, no sweeter souls had ever-
“GIVE ME BACK MY COOKIES, YOU DICK!” The cave barely stirred as a young girl skilfully leaped over a wall, a small bag in her hand. Another quickly followed, a little less skilful, but fast.
“No! My cookies now!” The first called back, making sure the bag stayed just out of reach.
“Mini, I swear to god, give it!”
“No!”
The two ran after each other, leaping over the furniture, nearly tripping a few times. As they took a quick turn and it became clear they were about to head in the direction of the exit, Bailey dropped the pole with the doe and made a grab for Mini, just barely grabbing her wrist in an attempt to stop her.
“I’ve got her, Spade!” he called out, but Mini twisted free and ran on, now having two people chasing after her. From the other side of the room, someone walked up to the doe (which was starting to look more and more bruised, even in death) and grabbed the other end of the pole.
“Here, I’ll help you.” he chuckled.
“Thanks, Lexa,” Sweet smiled back. “They never learn, do they?”
“Nah, never.”
Juice quickly ran through the cave. Everyone else would get lost easily in the labyrinth that the cave system was, but not the Survivors. As soon as someone joined, they had to learn the whole cave by heart, no maps allowed. That way they always had a place to hide or a way to a backdoor, should a raid ever happen again.
Juice knew she was heading the right way when a couple of soft thuds could be heard. She turned into a room, where she was met with a small group of people, deep in their training.
Jace was holding an axe, closing one eye as he threw hard, hitting the target with a hollow thud. Next to him was a fighting ring, where Chaz and Froggie were going against each other with a sword. Jinx was leaning against the wall, lazily twisting a knife between cer fingers and cheering on nobody in particular. Juice cleared her throat to gain attention.
“Chaz, can we talk?” she asked.
“Yeah sure, what’s up?” Chaz responded, not looking up from his fight. Juice didn’t bother trying to get him to stop. She knew Chaz could fight and listen at once.
“Bailey sent Gabby and Sword out to scout the terrain again,” she started explaining. “We may have spotted the Anti closing in on us again. Bailey’s worried and needs you to be on your best, in case anything goes wrong.”
“Bailey’s always worried,” Chaz responded, blocking one of Froggie’s attacks. “Besides, I’m always on my best.” When he was just met with a worried look, he shoved Froggie back and held up his hand, signalling for her to stop.
“Juice, our cave hasn’t been found by anyone for months now,” he said. “The only ones who joined were invited by us, far away from our cave. Maybe Bailey’s call for a new member wasn’t the smartest move, but he never said it was about the Survivors. We’re a Secret now, and we’re safe.”
“As long as you keep us able to fight,” Juice said, a stern look on her face.
“I always do,” Chaz reassured her. That’s when Froggie leaped forward, fully ready to floor her opponent. Chaz simply responded by stepping out of her way and sweeping her feet from underneath her. She landed on the floor with a thud and Chaz held the tip of his sword to her chin.
“Well, mostly able.”
Sweet sat on their knees, their knife carefully slicing through the thick skin of the doe, stripping off the hide. Leaned against the wall sat Lexa, sharpening some twigs with a small pocket knife as he waited for Sweet to finish skinning their kill so he could start cutting it into edible chunks.
“Do you think we’re safe?” he asked, looking up at Sweet. “I mean, I wasn’t around for the first raid, so I don’t know what it was like at all. But will we be okay?”
“Of course we’ll be okay,” Sweet responded, but when their reassuring look wasn’t returned, they raised an eyebrow. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“Dunno…” Lexa shrugged, tossing the twig he was holding. “It’s just that you guys are always so happy and carefree, but as soon as the Anti get mentioned, you all turn full protective mode, like the world could collapse at any moment. That’s not true, is it?”
Sweet sliced through the hide of the doe a little too fast for it to be reassuring, and the tip of the blade nicked against one of the legs.
“No,” they smiled, turning back to their work. “We’re just… careful, I guess. We take the necessary precautions to keep our family safe. Besides, we’ve got Sword and Gabby looking out as we speak. There’s no need to worry.” They put their knife down and pulled the full hide off. Lexa took it from their hands and together they spread it out on a frame to let it dry. The two shared a smile, and the conversation was forgotten.
Self-sustaining. That’s how some described the survivor’s cave. Others would call it a clockwork, nearly 50 cogs working together in a smoothly running system. People bouncing off each other like… well… bouncing balls. A well-integrated system in which people fought to survive, with everyone knowing their time and place. And in some ways, that was definitely true. But if you think that that is all they are, you couldn’t be more wrong.
As the evening fell, everyone was gathered in a circle, chatting about everything and nothing at the same time. They were waiting for Gabby and Sword’s return from their scout. It wasn’t really supposed to be wide-spread information, but secrets just weren’t a thing in the group. If one person knew, everyone knew.
Bailey got up from the floor, grabbing a torch off the wall. “I’m going to see if they’re back yet. It’s getting late.” His comment was met with a few murmurs from the group, most agreeing and some clearly not even listening. Bailey slipped away through the curtain, to his post by the cave entrance.
“I hope they’re back soon,” Fey mumbled. “It just never sits right with me when they go out too far.”
“Eh, they’ll be fine,” Jace called from across the room (how he heard it was a mystery). “When haven’t they come back?” The comment was enough to send the room chattering about the latest state of the Anti, something they rarely found themselves doing.
You see, the Anti were their worst enemy, but everyone dealt with them differently. Some were terrified of them, others were seething with rage, while others just mocked them every chance they got. After a few incidents they did finally agree to keep the snarky comments mostly to themselves, instead of just shouting them in a public place. After all, someone had said once: “If you shout your opinions in a public place, then they might just shout right back in your face.” And let’s be fair, nobody like that.
But they were more than just the enemies of the Anti. Sure, they liked to poke in some places to prove that they were still alive without them knowing where they resided, but most of them had given up the fight. There was no need to keep pushing and shoving, they were fine just being them. Their life didn’t revolve around the Anti. It would be pretty sad if it did.
So naturally, it didn’t take long for the discussion to die down again as people started leaning back, tired of the day and ready to go to sleep. Most people stayed up, though, hoping to catch a glimpse of the scouts. They had left hours ago, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. The terrain was tough, and definitely not a guarantee of safety. But it had hardly ever gone wrong before, and it probably wouldn’t go wrong now.
Over half of the cave was dozed off when the silence was interrupted by fast footsteps coming down the hallway. The huge curtain separating them from the rest of the world was yanked to the side, revealing a panicked Sword.
“Guys, I need help!” he exclaimed, startling everyone who hadn’t gotten up yet. All eyes were immediately turned on Sword, who was panting and was completely tensed up. “The Anti,” he said, heaving breathlessly after every few words. “We got ambushed. I got out, but they’ve got Gabby surrounded!”
Immediately, at least ten people shot up from their seat, already looking around and reaching for weapons. They would’ve all stormed out, if it wasn’t for Sweet jumping in front of them.
“Whoa, whoa, wait!” they exclaimed. “Do we really want to just rush out there? We are finally safe, we don’t want to practically lead them to our home! We haven’t prepared at all, are you insane?”
Though Sweet’s advice was usually heeded with respect, this was not one of those times. They were met with shocked and offended stares, from a cave that was filled with a ride or die mentality. They were willing to let most of the Anti’s actions slide, but an attack on their family would be met with a storm they hadn’t seen the likes of before.
It was Rubix who decided to step forward. Her hair like flames was blue as always, but the tips were starting to glow a dark orange as anger like soot fuelled it. She was frowning, and it was clear she was seething.
“How dare you,” she hissed at Sweet. “How dare you even think about not helping our friends. I know you’re a pacifist, but this isn’t the time.” She kept stepping closer, prodding her finger at Sweet’s chest. “They’re after our friend, and it is our duty to protect her. I am not planning to just stand by while our friends get killed. So you do whatever you want, but I’m going out there.”
“As am I,” Bailey spoke up, stepping up behind Rubix.
“And I,” Spade followed.
“Count me in,” Chaz spoke up.
“Right behind you,” Shuu added.
And so one by one, everyone stepped up, giving Sweet not really much of a choice. They hated violence, but they hated the thought of losing everyone even more. So they silently nodded, giving their approval for the rescue mission.
They half expected someone to cheer, or for the cold stares to stay as everyone turned to go outside, but Rubix stepped forward and embraced them in a hug. Their flaming hair flowed down their back, reaching the ground and flowing to the pit they often used for a campfire late at night. It turned back to its original blue colour, and it flowed like a gentle river as Rubix held her friend in a tight embrace, as if saying “it’s okay”.
As soon the fire hit the middle of the pit though, it blew up in a bright orange, lighting up the entire room in a flash. Rubix let go of Sweet and stepped back, her eyes now a lot darker. She ran her hand through the flames on her head, and the last bit of flame dropped to the floor as it slowly shaped back into a nice-looking hairdo.
This was the cue for everyone to step up with their torches and lit them in the fire that Rubix had created for them. A couple of people made their way into the armoury and grabbed weapons and gear for everyone that wanted to go (which was everyone), except for a couple that had already fallen asleep.
Like a startled herd, everyone ran outside, weapons in hand. They knew exactly where to go, even though Sword kept pointing in the direction they needed to run. Bailey and Chaz sprinted in front, with Jinx, Juice and Froggie following close behind. After that came the rest. They ran uphill, where they were met with quite a sight.
The valley below them was burning, and dark smoke rose up like a threatening curtain. Sword was a trained scout, though, and he pointed right to where he knew he’d left Gabby behind. “There she is!”
Gabby stood with her back against a tree, using her sword to keep the violent anti at a distance. It was clear she was struggling though, after all it was already getting late and the fire surrounding them was the only source of light in the dark evening. The group could spot more people fighting down there, some known, some strangers.
“Z!” Bailey called out to the back. “Get Anon, Alde and Weaskie in here, stat! We’re gonna need all the backup we can get if we want to fight these Anti!” As Z sprinted off to the farther end of the lands, Bailey faced forward again and hissed just under his breath as he tightened his grip around his trusted crossbow. “This is gonna be a messy one, and I refuse to let them get away with it.”
“Let’s go!” Chaz yelled out, and all of the survivors ran down the hill, weapons drawn, towards the chaos that was ensuing below them. Some fought for personal gain, others fought for revenge, and others fought just for the sake of fighting. But they all had the same mission: fight off the Anti and get back home safely.
In less than a minute, Sword and Abi had made their way over to Gabby and had jumped in between her and the Anti. This gave Gabby a moment to breathe and recompose herself. The Anti were armed with flaming swords, and the fight was two to one, but with some quick and well-coordinated moves, the trio managed to disarm them all. They had fought together before, and it was clear their movements followed each other and intertwined like a woven tapestry, forming the beautiful art that was war.
The fight wasn’t over, though. The Anti had spotted the group of vigilantes running downhill, and they looked up in surprise.
“Where the hell did they come from?” One called out.
“I thought you were dead!” Another laughed.
“How many times do we have to kill you?”
They didn’t get much time to think, as the Survivors had already launched themselves at their mortal enemies. If you watched from a distance it looked like a dishevelled mess, but if you looked closer, you could see that every member had their own fighting style. Swift, strong, and deadly.
Froggie slid low below the ground to throw her enemy off their feet, where Life was ready to pounce on them with a knife to the chest. Mal carried rope with her, which she’d surprisingly quickly tied between trees as to cut the Anti off, cornering them for just long enough so Fey could catch up with their sword. The blade collided with the Anti’s neck, striking them down with ease.
“Let’s goo!” Rubix exclaimed, a little too excited for the situation. Her hair was dancing in the wind, and the flames turned a dark orange as it came into contact with the smoke in the air. “This is my area of expertise,” they grinned as they started running in a large circle around the battlefield, setting fire to the dry grass and bushes. The fire grew quickly, and it functioned as a huge wall, locking everyone in, and possible other Anti out. That should do the trick.
Riley was perched up on a tree branch, where she had a perfect view of the battle field but most importantly, a perfect place to aim from. She knocked arrow after arrow, and shot them with utmost precision. Bailey may be a genius with a crossbow, but nobody among the Survivors could use a regular bow like Riley could. It had been months since she last missed a target, and weeks since she missed a moving target.
She was just aiming for an Anti that was laying in ambush when she heard a high-pitched shrill coming from the other direction. She turned on her safe spot, and saw that Mini was backed against a tree, an Anti right in front of her with a blade raised.
“Oh hell no,” she whispered under her breath as she knocked another arrow and let it fly. Right as she let go, she leaped down from the tree and sprinted over to the place where her arrow had landed, right in the Anti’s shoulder. She grabbed it tight and yanked it back, making the Anti turn around. She then landed a well-aimed blow with her fist right between the Anti’s eyes, making them collapse to the ground.
She reached out her hand, which Mini gratefully grabbed and hoisted herself up. Riley pulled Mini in for a hug and glared at the unconscious Anti on the floor.
“Stay the fuck away from my wife,” she hissed, making Mini giggle with relief. Riley grabbed her hand and pulled her along to a safer place.
As the time passed, the fighting got worse. There were moments where the Survivors were just standing in a tight formation, shields raised like a wall and screaming at the Anti to just see reason and let them go. It only seemed to infuriate them more. They had their reasons, and all room for rational thinking seemed to have left them. All that remained were bloodthirsty warriors who wanted nothing more than to see death.
Just when another bloody battle seemed to break out -in favour of the Anti, I must say unfortunately- a loud horn sounded over the hills. The Anti stopped in their tracks to see where the loud noise came from, and they were met with quite a surprise.
On top of the hill stood the man they knew as Anon, wearing a dark mask covering the upper half of his face to hide his identity. He was sat upon a dark brown horse with a black mane. Even from the far distance it was clear he had a sly smirk on his face as he raised his horn up in the air. First, two others appeared next to him. Chaz recognised them as Z and Weaskie. Then a cry like thunder rolled over the hills as hundreds of vigilantes appeared, all with their own weapons in hand. They started running down, and a huge grin spread across the faces of all of the survivors.
“The Public Enemies have arrived,” Shuu grinned, trying to hide the tears of relief in her eyes. Rubix leaped forward, raising both her hands and letting her wall of fire part like Moses parted the Red Sea. The huge army that came barrelling downhill now had a free path to victory, and the fire-y wall closed behind them.
Anon climbed off his horse and approached Bailey with a smile. They firmly shook hands, and Anon patted Bailey on the shoulder.
“Thank you for coming,” Bailey said, relieved by the support they’d gotten.
“I may have left the cave, but I’ve sworn loyalty to the Survivors,” Anon stated. “One of us, my brother, remember?”
No more words needed to be said. Anon pulled out a large sword and turned towards the Anti, who were no longer stunned but instead ready to keep fighting. Say what you want about them, but they were a dedicated people. Too bad their dedication was aimed at murder and destruction.
Their attempts were futile, though, as the Anti were now outnumbered five to one. Nevertheless, they fought hard and for at least another two hours all that was heard in the valley was the clashing of blades, the screams of people being struck down and the crackling of fire as everything seemed to burn.
“Ha! We’ve got them now, boys!” Chaz called out as he struck down his 23rd Anti of the day. An arrow zoomed right past his head, striking an Anti that was trying to sneak up on him in the chest.
“You bet!” Lexa grinned, raising her bow with a proud nod. Other cheers of affirmation rose up in the crowd as the Anti were pushed back towards their own land.
“We should head back home!” It was Sweet who called it. They pulled their dagger out of the abdomen of yet another fallen enemy, adrenaline and fear clearly visible in their eyes. Jace turned to them with a frown.
“If we fall back now, they’ll follow us!” he called out. “We need to finish this, now!” Sweet ran away from the body that they’d left bleeding on the ground, hoping to sneak away without anyone noticing. The battle was won, that meant they could go back, right?
They had almost made it to the wall of fire when a voice called out after them. “Sweet!” They turned to see where it was coming from. It was Spade.
“Where are you going?” Spade yelled.
“I want to go home!” Sweet cried out, trying their hardest to sound tough. “Let me go!”
“No way!” Spade exclaimed, dropping their sword to the ground. They turned towards their friend, hoping they could convince them to at least stay a little bit longer. They left together, they’d return home together. That was the Surivor way. Nobody left behind.
“Sweet, you can’t just leave!” they called out, frustrated. “What if you get lost? No, there’s no way I’m letting you go.” They approached Sweet and grabbed them by the arms.
“Promise me one thing, alright?” they asked. “Promise me that you’ll wait for me. Promise me that we’ll go home together, and that you won’t just run off. All of us will be home, I promise you that. Now promise me the same.”
“All of us will make it home,” Sweet replied softly, even though they found it hard to believe their own words. They’d already seen Life take an arrow to the shoulder, and Bailey a dagger in his arm. How everyone managed to keep going, they didn’t know. But one thing was for sure, they were willing to trust Spade.
“Okay, promise,” they nodded, and Spade stepped back.
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Now will you let me go?” Spade asked, and Sweet looked down to see their fists clenched in Spade’s sleeves. They quickly let go with a soft apology, but it was already forgotten before the words were even spoken.
Sweet reached for their dagger, and turned to run again. This time, towards the battle field. If they wanted to make it home tonight, there was fighting that had to be done. Pacifist or not, the only universal language in this world was violence. And it was about time they had that conversation.
The battle lasted another hour, but as the fire was slowly starting to die down, so was the fight. Bodies were scattered everywhere, both from the Anti as the Survivor’s allies. The army stood in silence as the last few of the Antis retreated to their homeland.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Bailey told Weaskie, who was standing right next to him.
“Does it make it easier when I say we’re used to it?” she replied with a sigh.
“No, it never does.”
“Best we move on now,” Weaskie calmly spoke. “It’s all we really can do. Their spirits will find their way back to us, and we will be reunited once more.”
“One of us?”
“One of us.”
Hands were shaken, hugs were given, and a moment of silence was held for those who had fallen. And with that, Anon once again mounted his horse and rode off, his army following close behind. The Survivors left behind, most of them wounded and all of them tired, but they were alive. They knew it was supposed to be a happy victory, but it sure as hell didn’t feel like it. Truth be told, they were tired of fighting. No matter. They were heading home now, and that was all that mattered.
As Rubix lifted her hands once more to let the wall of fire die down again, everyone turned their back to the slaughter that had taken place. Those who were hurt wrapped their arms around their brother’s and sister’s shoulders so they could make their way home. Mini was already preparing health potions in her mind, remembering every recipe by heart so she didn’t have to waste a second when they did get home.
They had made their way halfway uphill when a loud cry could be heard from below. From the ashes beneath the tree, a figure came stumbling uphill. It was clear he had lost his mind and was barely holding on as he could barely walk in a straight line.
“You!” They cried out, their words filled with venom. Everyone just shared a single look.
“What do you mean, you?” Juice decided to speak up. “Which one of us do you mean?”
“All of you!” the deranged Anti cried out. “My people! My brothers! You horrible, horrible people! You deserve to die, every single one of you!”
The accusations honestly just made everyone roll their eyes. They’d heard it a thousand times before, and though it was still a bit hurtful, they felt little remorse for the guy in front of them. Both sides had lost people, but you didn’t see the Survivors stumble to the Anti to scream and cry.
“Okay buddy, calm down,” Jinx spoke, stepping forward. Ce put her hands up in front of cer, as if ce was approaching a wild horse. The guy immediately pulled out a knife and started waving it in front of him, panic in his eyes.
“No! No!” he yelled. “Stay back! You’re a bunch of freaks! All of you! I don’t want you near me!
“So, are you scared of us or are you mad at us?” Spade asked, supressing a chuckle. To be fair, with a fight of like 30 to 1 the man had little chance.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the man spat, and he suddenly launched forward, grabbing Spade by the shoulder with one hand and with the other hand he thrusted towards Spade’s abdomen. They realised a little too late that the man was still holding his knife.
An unbearable pain shot through Spade’s side as the sharp, slightly rusty knife cut through the flesh. Spade had barely let out a gasp before everyone rushed forward to grab the man and pull him off their friend. The man struggled against their grip and screamed, but it was pointless.
“Am I mad?” he screeched. “TELL ME IF I’M MAD! YOU LITTLE SH-“ He couldn’t finish his sentence as Jace had stepped forward and slit the man’s throat with one slice. He choked on his words (and blood, let’s be honest) for a moment before collapsing to the ground. His lifeless body landed with a thud, but it wasn’t heard by anyone.
Spade stumbled back, and everyone immediately turned their attention to them. Their hand was covering their lower left abdomen, but the large dark red stain that spread through their shirt revealed what was happening. They didn’t say a word as they looked their friends right in the eyes and started falling backward.
Before they could hit the ground they were caught by at least 8 pairs of arms from Survivors who were scrambling to stop them from hitting their head. Their breath was starting to get ragged, and their eyes were starting to flutter. They were gently laid on the ground.
“OUT OF MY WAY!” A voice boomed through the group. It was Lexa, shoving his way through to drop down to his knees right next to Spade. He took off his jacket and put it on the wound, putting pressure on it.
“Stay with me, Spade!” he encouraged as he looked around for anything that could be used as a bandage. “And don’t you DARE go to sleep! Keep your eyes open, look at me, do NOT go to sleep!” Spade nodded, but it was clear they did not have much strength in them.
“SPADE!” Another voice cried out. It was Sweet, who had hidden in the back of the group as soon as the crazed man had come forward. But now, they were pushing themselves to the front. Tears started welling in their eyes as soon as they saw what had happened.
“Spade, no!” They stuttered, not really comprehending what was happening. They knelt down by their friend’s side, their eyes scanning over the wound in the hopes they’d magically find a way to stop it. They grabbed onto the jacket Lexa had put over the wound, trying to apply pressure too, but their hands were shaking. That’s when another shaking hand found its way to theirs.
“Sweet-“ It was a soft whisper.
“Spade you can’t do this!” Sweet said, their voice shaky. “You said we’d be-“
“Sweet-“
“You said we’d be home together!” Tears started to flow freely now. “All of us! You promised! All of us would- we’d all make it home!”
“I know what I promised,” Spade answered in a weak voice. “And I never break my promise, right?” Sweet nodded. “Now, go home,” They continued, gently squeezing Sweet’s hand. “Go home, and wait for me. That’s what I asked, right? To wait for me? Wait for me, and I’ll be home. Can you do that for me?” Sweet nodded again, raising one -now blood covered- hand to their eyes to wipe their tears.
“I-I can do that,” they stuttered. “Yeah, I’ll wait for you.”
“We’ll all make it home.”
“We’ll all make it home.”
And with that, Sweet got up from the ground, a little shaky on their legs but standing. They then ran off towards their home, where they’d be waiting, as they’d promised.
As soon as they got out of earshot, Abi turned to Spade.
“Why’d you say that?” she asked. Spade slowly let their head fall back against the ground. They stared up in the sky, avoiding the concerned stares of their family. There was hardly an expression on their face as they softly mumbled.
“This is easier for both us and them.” It came out in short breaths. “I’ll respawn, we both know I will. You know Sweet, they would not be able to handle seeing death. Remember how they were after the raid?” Those who were around when the raid happened nodded. Yeah, they knew. It hadn’t been pretty.
“Wait, respawn?” Fey spoke up. “No, Spade, you can’t die! Not when we’ve just won that entire fight! I know you’ll come back, but that’s not an excuse to just die!” The realisation seemed to set in among the Survivors. The stab wound was a lot worse than everyone had anticipated and Spade was bleeding out fast.
“Stay with me!” Lexa commanded, pressing down on the jacket that was covering the wound. Spade winced in pain at the sudden pressure. Their hands felt around and found Lexa’s.
“L-Lexa-“ they whispered. Lexa looked up.
“You tried,” they continued. “You really did. But it’s okay now.” They looked around at their family which was standing around them. A weak smile “We did this together guys, all of us. I’m so, so proud of all of you. You guys really are my family. I’ll be back soon, and we’ll all laugh about this someday, right? We always do.”
The smile on their face faltered as their eyes went past every single Survivor. “We will laugh about this, right?” They sounded a bit worried, and it was clear that while death was approaching, so was extreme fear. “Don’t leave me alone,” they begged, their voice barely above a whisper. “Please, I don’t want to go. Tell me I won’t be alone.”
Everyone took this as a cue to hunker or kneel down, and everyone who could reach them put a hand on Spade.
“You won’t be alone,” Bailey promised. “Never.”
“We will always be there,” Mini added.
“Until the very end,” Satine smiled.
“And far beyond,” Bee finished. Spade’s eyes lit up just a bit, too weak to actually form a real smile.
“One of us?” they asked.
“Forever.” Was the answer.
Spade nodded for one last time before their breath hitched just a bit. Their body relaxed as they exhaled with a deep sigh. They would never inhale again.
As if they were in a dramatic movie -because let’s be fair I like drama- the sky darkened and rain started falling. First it was just a few small droplets, but in less than a minute it was pouring. The last bit of fire was put out and a soft sizzling could be heard as the last bit of smoke rose up.
No words were said among the Survivors as they stood around Spade’s body. Some cried, letting their emotions flow. Others just stared at the ground, unable to cope with grief. How were they to know? Most of them never experienced the death of a loved one before. The others, a bit too many to count.
Bailey and Chaz offered a salute to the loss of their friends, before turning around to walk away. They’re military men, and there was still a war going on. Grief would come later, now it’s time to move on. Was that statement even close to true? No, probably not. But whatever they needed to tell themselves to not give into the suffocating pressure they felt in their chest at the sight of the death of their loved ones.
The other Survivors looked up when the two guys walked away. A few immediately followed, knowing exactly that now was the time to go home. Spade would return to them, they were probably already respawning. It could take a while, but they didn’t fear it too much. A few others looked back a few times, unsure what to do. Were they really just going to leave Spade on the floor? But as Spade’s body softly started fading away, the message got across and soon everyone was heading back to the cave they called home.
A unity. That’s how the Survivors described themselves.. A clockwork, nearly 50 cogs working together in a smoothly running system. People bouncing off each other like… well… bouncing balls. A well-integrated system in which they fought to survive, with everyone knowing their time and place. And it was true, though it went to much deeper than that.
These people were family. A found family that would support each other through everything, whether it’d be the good or the bad. In the past few months, they’d gotten to know each other better than anything, and they knew they’d always be there for each other.
And now, as they were heading home, they knew things would be okay. The fighting probably wasn’t over yet, and it would take some time for those who were lost to return, but things would be okay. They were each other’s shoulder to lean on, the brothers, sisters, and parents they never had.
The cave was in sight, but only if you knew it was. The day was over, and the Survivors would return below ground, where they’d stay hidden again. Until the time for them to resurface would come, in a time where the world would welcome them with open arms. Someday, the world would be a safe space for them. And until then, they’d remain who they are.
They are the ones who were left behind.