Young Writers Society

"Oh!" Bo said, hopping on his feet to follow. With a hurried spin of his hand, he conjured a ball of sparking lightning that acted something like a lamp. "Sure, let's go!" As he passed Sevy, he pulled the guy up by his collar with ease, then gave him a pat on the head.

Aleks snickered when he heard Sevy face-plant, only growing quiet when Lex awkwardly cleared their throat in the middle of it. Télos glanced over at his two chosen with a look of amusement clearly written on his before before hurrying after Hero, who had decided to join Bo near the front of the group with a small orb of light floating beside him.

Hnng. Sevy falling on his face didn't boost Enide's confidence in this group. Still, it reminded her of her husband, and it was better than being alone. She kept behind the others, looking to either side for anything amiss. Not that she'd easily be able to tell in this strange place, but a healthy amount of paranoia generally hadn't hurt her.

"Ah, thanks, Bo." Sevy smiled over at the man, wiping a hand across his nose to check for blood. Gordon nuzzled his hand worriedly, and he gave the large cat a reassuring pat.

Casey finally caught up to Sevy, Bo, Hero, and Télos, through he shrank back from walking too close to any of them. He reached out a tentative hand and tugged at Sevy's sleeve.

"Are you okay?" He murmured quietly.

Sevy glanced back, touched, and nodded. "Oh no, I'm perfectly fine. Happens more than you'd think. I've got a tough face."

Casey winced, somehow not feeling any better by this reassurance.

They walked through the seemingly endless maze of hallways for what felt like an eternity to Télos, though he suspected that it was only a handful of minutes in actuality. It certainly helped to have light coming from Casey, Bo and Hero, seeing that none of them had managed to find a decent lantern. He tried to stay close to his best friend, but his chosen lingered behind the group. A glance back at them was all that he needed to know that they were having an internal conversation; he could see their expressions switching back and forth as one took slightly more control than the other.

All was going perfectly well, right up until he heard something move in a room that was farther down the hallway they were in. Télos immediately stopped in his tracks, causing Aleks to let out a steady stream of swears when Lexal bumped into him. "Di-Did you hear that?" he asked, golden eyes widening as he glanced nervously between Hero and his chosen.

Hero nodded. "Something moved in that room," he said, pointing a finger in the direction of the noise. Seeing Iroas suddenly appear in his hand certainly didn't make Télos feel any better; he didn't think a sword made out of concentrated light would have much effect on what he was sure was lurking within that room.

Aleks groaned. "It's not a ghost," he said, giving Télos a look of disbelief as he pushed past him and joined the front of the group.

"You-You don't know that!" Télos protested. "This place is creepy and abandoned, so why wouldn't there be a gh-gh-ghost?"

"Because ghosts don't exist!" Aleks replied, exasperated.

"They might," Lex uncertainly said. From the angry look on their face, Aleks probably wasn't pleased with Lex arguing. "I'd technically be like a ghost possessing you, wouldn't I-"

"I'm not arguing with you right now, idiot," Aleks growled, withdrawing his sword and giving a glare back in Télos' direction.

Strange noises were the absolute last thing Enide needed right now. She wanted to find her husband, not get into a fight with some stranger (or, worse yet, some strange creature). The Queen stepped forward gingerly, walking past the frightened Télos and the armed Hero and Lexal. Stopping a couple feet from the door, she sniffed the air. Nope, it didn't smell like anyone she knew. It certainly didn't sound like anyone she knew either - Shiruba, for instance, would've been a lot more vocal than that.

Pulling out her sword, she held it out in front of her. "Why should we have to worry about a ghost, if I may ask?" she hissed, hoping she was loud enough for the others to hear her.

"Because ghosts are murderous and dangerous!" Télos squeaked, wisely ducking behind Lexal and peeking out over their shoulder. Aleks swore at this, but Lex luckily kept them from moving. "And this old, abandoned place is perfect for a ghost or two-"

The door started to open on its own.

Télos yelped and ducked further behind Lexal. There was a clanking noise as whatever was lurking within started to emerge. A sword shot out from the darkness, going right for Enide's neck. And then Télos finally caught a glimpse of the sword's wielder - or, rather, of the armor they were wearing. He couldn't make out a single identifying detail. He relaxed. They might have been threatening a member of their group, but at least they were tangible-

Télos couldn't see their eyes.

No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see anything through the holes in their helmet.

His golden eyes widened in horror, and his skin turned several shades paler as he stumbled back and let out a terrified cry. The haunted suit of armor turned and stared at him. The sword was removed from Enide's neck. "Télos?" it asked. Télos could barely keep the scream from leaving his lips when he realized it knew who he was.

The ghost went to take a step forward, but Hero - who had been lurking in the shadows - stepped forward and promptly disarmed it with a quick swipe of Iroas.

Then it was knocked to the ground, Hero's sword up against its neck.

"Hero," the ghost said. One hand was slowly raised in surrender, while the other just as slowly moved towards the helmet. "It's me."

Hero narrowed his eyes and moved Iroas closer to its neck. "I do not know you."

The helmet's front was flicked up.

All Télos could do was stare at the lack of anything underneath the armor; he was too terrified to try getting up and running, and his mouth wasn't working like it was supposed to.

"Hero, it's me," the ghost repeated. "Your chosen."

Lexal suddenly took a step forward. Télos wildly tried to grab for his chosen's legs, but they were moving too quickly for him to even stand a chance. "Zalio?" Lex asked. Télos' heart skip a beat when he heard the name uttered; had Zalio died and become a ghost!?

The helmet nodded.

"What happened to you?" Lex questioned. Hero removed the sword from Zalio's neck, and worked together with Lexal to pull Zalio back to his feet. The helmet's front fell shut as they did so, but Zalio didn't seem to have any intentions of moving it.

"I spilled an invisibility potion on me," Zalio sheepishly admitted. In retrospect, Télos should have recognized the bag hanging over his shoulders; Zalio was always carrying it around. "I found this suit of armor in that room. When I heard people coming, I thought it would be a good idea to have some protection."

Oh dear. For all her preparations, he could've killed her easily. Sure, she might've had some time to duck out of the way or parry his blade, but she wasn't sure if it could've been enough. At least this wasn't a foe.

Enide sheathed her bow and gave a slight bow. "Good evening...Zalio, is it?" she said. "I imagine that you were as unfortunate as the rest of us, to be sent here without your consent?"

Zalio turned to look at the woman who had spoken, and then nearly had a heart attack when he realized he had no idea what she was. She looked like she could have been a player, but then that would mean she had to be someone's chosen if he heard her speak. "I was," he distractedly said, turning back around to stare at the other people present in the hallway. His hand reached for the sword that had been knocked out of his hands, but he paused before grabbing onto it - why weren't the players there being attacked?

He looked between Hero and Télos.

"Do you have new chosen?" he slowly asked.

"Nope," Télos cheerfully said.

He looked over at Hero. "Are they Oracle's, then?"

Hero shook his head. "They are not my sister's chosen, Zalio."

Lexal placed a hand on his shoulder. He glanced back at the other chosen, hoping that they'd give him the answer neither of the gods were giving. "They're not from Minecraftia," Lex said. "Everyone here has been taken from their world."

Hnng. As safe as she felt in such a large (and growing) group, Enide was no closer to finding her husband. She would have to get the others moving soon. In the meantime, she could talk to Zalio. Though she suspected Zalio had only arrived a short time ago, and had likely not seen anyone else, she figured it didn't hurt to at least ask.

"Did you so happen to find anyone else after your arrival?" she said. "Or anything that you might consider out of the ordinary for such an admittedly strange place?"

Zalio shook his head. "I just came to in that room over there," he answered, stifling a yawn as he pointed at the room. He hadn't been getting much sleep the past few nights, and it was still hard gauging just how much this body needed when it came to rest. "Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but I don't even know what the ordinary is for a place like this."

Enide sighed. The poor man certainly sounded and looked tired; hopefully walking wouldn't be too inconvenient for him (though, to be frank, she was more interested in finding her husband than a stranger's well-being). "Have we anywhere else to go inside this building?" she said.

The group thought for a moment.

"I don't think we have a specific place to go," Télos guessed, looking at the other people present. "If we keep walking around, we might find some sort of clue on why we're here. Not sure what that clue would be, so we should probably keep our eyes open."

"What did you see when you arrived, or when you entered that room?" Enide said, turning to Zalio. "I believe we may have to reconsider what is 'ordinary,' given our dissimilar origins and appearances."

"I think the room was an armory," Zalio said. He glanced down at her sword, then back up at her face. "I'm guessing you know what an armory is, since you seem to have similar weapons."

He yawned, then turned his attention to the room.

"It's probably a good for anyone without a weapon to grab at least one from in there," he suggested.