Young Writers Society

Briar ignored the conversation, prefer to instead focus on the sounds of the area around them. The quiet tread of their feet on the not-quite-solid surface beneath them, the sound of a burst pipe echoing through what was left of the halls, any movement or jostling of rubble.

The inescapable feeling that she was being watched pricked at the back of her neck. It's just paranoia, she told herself, a common lie.

Well, Nubes wasn't about to disagree with glowing eyeballs, even though they weren't doing his own eyes too many favors - gently tugging Lasan's hand, Nubes led the lizard out of Herobrine's way. The leopard used his spare paw to gesture to the smashed-up stairway.

They started their ascent up the destroyed staircase - Herobrine grateful that he could finally tap into his powers. He wouldn't use them too much, but being a god of darkness meant he had somewhat good night vision. He could have made it better, but he didn't want to risk tiring himself now.

Briar stuck with the group as they ascended, keeping her eyes trained on the light at the top once it was visible. They would be at the top soon.

She stayed near the others, unsure of how far this surface that Herobrine was creating beneath them reached.

On the bright side, not all of their supplies had gone up in flames. On the downside, Nubes wasn't quite sure that what was left was edible.

Having made it back to the smaller bunker, the leopard now crouched down next to a pile of food and water packets next to a still-burning canvas. Scorch marks littered the parts of the floor that hadn't been destroyed, and the packets themselves were coated in ash. Some had been ripped apart, while the coverings for others had melted and warped. Not very appetizing.

"I still have a few under my coat, for what it's worth," Lasan said. Nubes looked back to see the lizard pull out one of the packets in question. It was a tad unsettling to see Lasan standing towards the edge of the giant hole of twisted metal and dirt that had been a fireplace, but it wasn't like there was much room for anyone to stand.

Nubes nodded; they both knew that it likely wouldn't be enough to keep the group going for long, but neither of them felt like saying it.

"We should keep moving," Herobrine suggested. "We'll hopefully find some food near here."

He didn't want to think about what would happen if they didn't - he knew he could get by without, and theoretically both Gluttony and Lust could, too, but there was still four other people who needed food. And even if he could get away with not eating, Gluttony still wanted food, and Herobrine doubted it would be good if he went hungry for too long.

"You're right," Briar said to Herobrine.

She hated the idea of going back out into the cold, but that seemed a more than likely possibility at the moment. She kept her complaints to herself, though. There was no good to come out of that. Not right now.

"Ideally," Nubes said. The leopard stepped out of the way, gesturing to the half-destroyed, twisted, burned-out staircase that would take them back to the surface. "Lead the way, Herobrine - I feel like you're the one most qualified to walk into a blizzard, should there be one."

He led their group up the stairs, trying to listen for the howling of a blizzard. There was a noise that he could hear in the distance, but it wasn't close enough for him to definitively say it was a blizzard.

They left the bunker.

Then he could see the source of the sound. There was a blizzard, though it was far away. He watched it for a handful of moments before remembering that they needed to start moving.

"We should keep going," he said.

"We should," Briar agreed. It was incredibly difficult not to think about the cold as they stepped fully into it, but she managed. The images of blood and gore that replaced the thoughts of the cold were just as unwelcome.

Ah, of course there was a blizzard. Of course.

"Well, we'll see how far we can go," Nubes said, keeping close to Lasan while they began to walk in the direction away from the blizzard. It also happened to be the direction away from the bunkers (Nubes wasn't inclined to think they would be super helpful anymore). "If things get rough, we can use your darkness, Herobrine, and hide in the snow."

Herobrine nodded.

"I was thinking the same thing," he agreed - trying not to glance back in the direction of the blizzard as they started walking away from the bunkers.

The next few minutes slipped by a little too slowly for Nubes's liking. Between the faint howling of the wind, the sound of shuffling as the group trudged its way through the snow, and the cold that nipped at the leopard's ears, he needed to find something to distract him.

He settled on prodding Lasan's chest and saying, "You've been awfully quiet."

"I haven't had anything to say," came the muffled voice from under Lasan's coat.

"Isn't it a little crowded in there, between all the food and all the books?" Nubes said, smiling faintly.

Mal didn't respond.

"You like it in there, don't you?" said Nubes.

"No," Mal said, almost quiet enough for Nubes not to hear.