Jack sighed, staring at himself in the mirror. His nose showed no signs of having being severely hit, aside from it being a couple millimeters off from where he was used to it being. No one noticed, not even him, until he had taken a closer look. Although he had to admit that his nose wasn't as concerning as a certain pink haired time-bomb.
A stiff silence and crescendo-ing tension was what paired his bread that morning. Even the bread seemed to be chewier in his mouth, leaving that awful dry taste that he had to wash down with a couple glasses of water. Not to mention that the glares Aiden would shoot him from time to time poked his cheeks with a dainty needle. The water would spill out like popping a balloon and he'd end up drinking five times as much water that's recommended in a day. Ami sat closely beside him, munching on the same bite of apple she had been for ten minutes.
Jack felt his entire body relax when Michael totally nonchalantly cleared his throat before all of them.
"I, uh...I'm planning on going down to the mines again today. To get some more diamond to build armour for each of us. So that we don't die in the Nether."
Smooth, Jack thought, resting his chin in his stub and raising an eyebrow at Michael. He continued on. "So...if anyone wants something to do today, please tag along."
"That's code for 'we're going mining today and everyone's coming,'" Charlotte translated between pork chops. Or, was it bites of pork - oh. Oh, no. It was full pork chops. Michael blushed and busied himself with a fresh slice of watermelon. Aiden clicked his tongue and sighed. He didn't try to start anything, but just looked annoyed as he twirled an apple on the table. Did he always have that scowl on his face? Jack made a mental note to later devise all of Aiden's facial expressions.
"Mining, huh?" Izzy tilted her head, closing her eyes and, from what Jack could guess, fantasized. Now that he thought about it, Izzy looked quite peaceful when she did that. Her mind seemingly in another world, her head slowly leaning down - oh. She fell asleep. Jack and Ami exchanged worried glances. Luke gave her a gentle prod and she rose instantaneously with golden locks bustling everywhere. "Seems really cool!" She didn't seem to have noticed her narcoleptic attack. The crew seemed to silently agree to keep it between themselves as they all prodded their food and stared at their plates with furrowed brows.
Jack and Ami caught each other's eye. She flicked her eyes down to underneath the table. Jack rolled his eyes and cautiously slipped a piece of cake out of his pockets and passed it to her discreetly. Ami nodded to herself and, with the same slippery motion, handed him a firework rocket. Wait, what? Where did she get this?! Ami snorted. Jack guessed that his shock wasn't exactly well-hidden. Ami hid her smile behind her stubs and whispered, "Let's use 'em later, eh?"1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOqHohQpWY
Jack carefully put the fireworks into his pocket, starting to doubt Ami's adequacy at planning.1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5APokwxfv
Why did he bring the fireworks with him. Why did he think that they might 'come in handy' in the mines. They were underground and lighting even one of those things would probably mean insta-death in a colourful variety of ways. Why did he bring them along.1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDDDeWFwjt
Jack's internal struggle must have been more obvious than he thought. Ami was giggling beside him as he sweat through his sapphire hoodie. He flipped the hood up and pulled the strings tight so that his eyes could barely see the stone in front of him. Luckily, the others didn't seem to take much notice of Ami's strawberry face or Jack's increasing self-deprecation. Before he knew it, they had come to the endless mines again; the mine that lead to the chest guarded by spiders had a sign that read 'MONSTERS BELOW,' in sloppy handwriting. Jack got the feeling that Michael didn't want them down there again. 'DO NOT ENTER,' read a sign directly below it. Oh.1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzBewZORpF
Jack switched his attention on Michael's back, which was slightly slouched, as they ventured further. The boy ahead of him looked around at the different mines, mouthing something Jack couldn't make out. Michael soon motioned with his stub over to what must have been a relatively new patch of mines. None of them had been dug in at all - aside from small little dents that Michael must have put to remember where they were. Jack pondered where he even got the time to come down here and do such things.
"Alrighty." Michael swiveled around to face the whole group. "I think we should split off in groups of twos or threes. Makes things a little safer this time, yeah?" No response. The morning grogginess clearly hadn't left yet. "Er...Charlotte, you and Luke can take the mine to the right, Aiden and I can tackle the one right beside it, and Jack, Ami, and Izzy; can you guys take the one across from us?" He pointed to each mine respectively. "Remember, be careful. It isn't wrong to run if you feel overwhelmed, okay?" Something clouded over his eyes. He cleared his throat and shook it away. "Don't be idiots." He narrowed his eyes at Jack's group in particular. Perhaps at Ami in particular. Definitely at Ami in particular. With that, the groups split up with their supplies and went into their mines.1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILdLli73mf
They hadn't been mining that long and Jack was already beginning to lose his mind. Ami and Izzy were a fascinating combination - in that Izzy wandered seemingly without a care, gushing at anything remotely shiny (even if it was just a rock), and Ami just didn't seem to care about a lot of things. Like common sense. While Jack had to admit that dragging oneself along the ground wasn't particularly common, it still made sense for him to attempt to convince her to not to that. Putting his theories in action proved to be difficult when he was one of the only ones swinging the pickax.
Miraculously, Jack had somehow convinced the both of them through the promise of cake to aid him in plowing through the mine. Naturally, the three began to talk once the repeated dull, grey tones of the mine lost their wonder.
"You're a singer?" Jack gawked, momentarily forgetting to swing as his pickax got stuck in the stone.
"Used to be, I think," Izzy puzzled. "before I was here, anyway. I like it a lot!" She exhaled sharply as she broke another block of stone.1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcaDnQNJxWq
"I think that we still are what we used to be, but it's like we're on vacation." Ami shrugged.
"Some vacation," Jack and Izzy said in unison. Immediately after they grinned and high stubbed, both saying, "Jinx, you owe me a soda," their grins soon widening. Ami laughed, soon breaking into a nasty cough, dropping her pickax and holding onto the wall for support as she hacked out a lung.
Jack came beside her. "Whoa, you alright? We can take a meal break, if you want." She inhaled great gulps of air, nodding feverishly.
So the three flopped down on the floor of the cave and broke out their food. Izzy pulled out a shimmering batch of apples. She was about to bite into one, but before she did she cast a smirk towards Jack.
"Really? Dry bread?" She shook her head. Jack stuck out his tongue and bit into the bread with more passion than bread-eating required, dramatically ripping out a chunk that was almost as big as his head. "Mmfmm!" he triumphed. Ami cackled and Izzy hid a smile behind her apples.
"Here. Have something to wash it down." Izzy handed him one of her apples. It was a perfectly crimson red, shining in the dim light of the cave. She dangled it in front of him. "Unless you want to have bread-mouth for the rest of your life." Jack chewed slowly, considering her offer. It didn't take long before he simply shrugged and took the gift. But, now Izzy was down one apple. It didn't feel right. Jack reached into his pocket and handed her a piece of bread. She looked it up and down, as though deciding if she, too, truly wanted 'bread-mouth,' and swiftly swiped it from his blocky palm.1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBjaHGbAQe
Jack felt something nudge his side. Ami was giving him some sort of look, pushing a carrot into his gut with vigor. He got the point and 'discreetly' threw an entire loaf at her head, and was surprised that he didn't hear Michael come running when the 'PLONK' echoed across the cave. Ami snorted into the loaf and took a bite between her laughs.1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9RS2YeSNB
"You two get along well, don't you?" Izzy mused, a compelling smile crossing her cool, coral lips. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and gave the two a look that stiffened the very air around them.
"Well? My dear Izzy, I'm afraid that this is an all-out war. Thousands of men and women have already been sacrificed in our eternal battle." Ami pulled herself upright. Jack raised his eyebrows and straightened himself in the same manner.
"Why, that is most agreeable, Miss Ami." He put on a British accent for flair and tried to keep a straight face as Ami spat out some bits of soggy bread. "It is of the utmost importance that we assure you that we have a distinct hate for one another. Why, have you never heard of Samurai Jack and his battle against the evil fiend, Ami?"
"What?" She elbowed him. "Why do you get a cool name? Samurai Jack sounds so awesome but just 'Ami' makes me look all flat and boring."
"...The Ami."
"Better." They all chuckled. After that died down, the silence of the caves pressed its leering face down unto them. "Huh," Ami pondered.
"What's up?" Izzy looked at her. "We should probably get back at it, right?"
"No, no." Ami shook her head suddenly. She nodded briefly in retrospect. "Well, yes. But I don't think we're really getting anywhere here. Jack, do you remember where that chest was?" Jack realized what she was getting at. "Ami, we almost lost Michael the last time we went down there." She fidgeted with her pickax. Ami sighed and stabbed the butt of it into the ground. "I know, and the idea of all those spiders doesn't exactly excite me. But...dammit, Jack, you heard what Michael said - he thinks that there's probably diamond in that! It'll take us forever to dig through all this ugly stone and we need a lot of diamonds to make feasible armor for all of us-"
"Hey, hey. I know how you feel. Doesn't it seem kind of reckless?" Izzy laid a gentle stub on Ami's knee. "I don't want to risk losing you or Jack, Ami."
"What if we don't have a lot of time left?" Ami's voice suddenly dropped to barely above a croak. Jack gave her a concerned look. She went on, "Remember how Michael thought we might be in an alternate reality or something? What if there's an 'us' that's in the real world, or whatever, that can't move or do anything while we're here? We'd have families just waiting for us, hoping that we recover from some phantom illness, when...when..." She broke off. "I'm sorry." She hid her face behind her stubs.
Jack sighed and drew closer to her, pulling her body in close. "We're gonna be alright." Ami pushed against him. "But what if-"
"What if we're all wrong? What if every theory we have about this place is wrong? We just don't know, and that's okay." He cleared his throat. "If...if we give it a look, uh, the cave, I mean, just a look, will that be enough?"
"Jack," Izzy warned. Ami wiped her face. "You'd do that just to make me feel better?"
"You'd be surprised," he muttered. Jack cleared his throat. "Just a look. That's all."
Tiptoeing down the hall proved to be a challenge for the Thunderfoot Twins™ who tended to trip over one another more than was necessary for a stealth mission.
"Ouch! That was my baby toe!" Izzy exclaimed in a harsh whisper.
"Sorry! ...Ow, Izz, that's my arm!" Ami grimaced.
"I thought it was the wall!"
"I'm not that stiff..."
"Maybe you two shouldn't stand two inches apart." Jack finally glanced back at them. He was beginning to feel a headache come on. "We just can't be too loud. Going full rogue is...optional." He scratched the back of his head. Looking ahead, the signs on the forbidden mine weren't too hard to miss. The handwriting hadn't gotten any better since he last set eyes upon it, and the sign still ushered him not to enter. He gulped and gingerly stepped around the sign, shooting a glance over at the other two. Ami bounded over and Izzy danced across. Jack's sinking feeling subtly deepened.
"Are we there yet?" Ami complained after two minutes of walking down the tunnel. Jack resisted the urge to utter something that would change the rating of this book to 'R.' He took a calming breath.1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpcZQ8vunG
"This was your idea, remember," he said. She crossed her arms and seemed to have glued her mouth shut. Soon only the echoes of their boots on the ground could be heard. Jack ran everything through his head again. Get to the boarded-up part, go in, get to the chest, take diamond, scamper out before the spiders, or worse, Michael found them. Geez, making a list in his head? Now he was really starting to sound like Michael. Jack shook his head and blinked, suddenly startled by the wall that gave his face a rough smooch. He cursed and rubbed his nose irritably.
"Nice move." Ami raised an eyebrow. "I did warn you that the wall was there, but you can run into it if you really want to."
"Ouch...I think my nose is steadily getting more than a little crooked." Jack poked his nose gently as though it could fall off at any second.
"Maybe then you won't be so nosy," Izzy snickered. Jack pressed his stubs to his face. Admittedly, he saw that one coming. And yet, he did nothing to stop it. It was his own fault. Ami beckoned from a few feet ahead, "Hey! Do treasure chests look like regular chests?" Jack and Izzy caught up to her, where a chest lay hidden in the shadows.
"Good enough for me!" Izzy's eyes sparkled jovially. Jack blinked. It looked just like the chests at home. Not just similar; exactly the same. A light, oak brown with a black strap that hugged it tight and a silver buckle. Jack thought that any sort of treasure chest would at least have some glitter sprinkled on it. Well, maybe that defeats the purpose of hiding a chest, he thought. He felt a shiver creep up his spine and fought against it. He placed both stubs on the lid and with a grunt, lifted it. To his surprise, it was unlocked (a true sign of an unprofessional treasure-hider). He peered inside and couldn't stop the grin from taking over his face.
"Holy Lawlup!" Ami exclaimed. "So those are really..."
"Diamonds." Izzy breathed.
"Michael was right about this chest! Dude...this is way more than I thought we would find. It just might be enough...then again, I don't know how much we need, but still." Jack whooped with joy. He was so happy that he didn't hear an awfully familiar sound skittering across the cave walls. There was a tug on his shoulder. He glanced and saw Izzy's stub shaking on his sweater. "What's wrong?" he asked, turning to face her.
"Y-You don't h-hear that?" She squeaked, shivering. Ami seemed frozen in place, terror slowly melting away her smile. The sound came again. Jack could hear their footsteps. He paled.
"Spiders!" He harshly whispered. The three quickly exchanged terrified glances, stuffing their pockets with as much diamond as they could between them. Izzy was shaking so much that she nearly dropped her entire stack. Jack held onto her with a sturdy arm as they dashed away. Ami sprinted ahead, her head snapping back and forth.1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSACExJc2U3
"Through here!" She called back to them. Jack gave Izzy a reassuring glance.
"I th-think I can go on my own now." She stammered. Jack hesitantly let go, following Ami, who was several paces ahead. He skidded the corner and glanced back for Izzy; she was right behind him. Thank goodness, he thought. The cave walls seemed to be closing in on them as Jack ran further, pushing his legs beyond their capabilities, adrenaline being the only thing that kept him moving. There she was! Ami was just ahead, facing the exit. The...exit? Jack slowed to a stop, facing the wall with a bitter pang in his heart. Izzy smashed her body into the wall, blonde curls tangled around her face.
"Let me out!" she screamed, tears streaking down her face. Jack had never seen her cry before.
"What are you waiting for?!" Ami beckoned. "We have pickaxes, don't we? Mine! Quickly - like you never have before!" Jack's brain caught up with the rest of him as he clued in, ripping his pickaxe off his back and smashing it into the stone wall with a force to be reckoned with. The noises grew louder. He didn't dare to look behind him. Louder. Izzy hyperventilated, scrambling to break the wall.1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkvR8bGKMT
Skreee!
Jack's leg went numb. They were right on top of them! The breath in his lungs caught and his iron grip on his pickaxe slipped. Jack tumbled to the floor and gasped, black spots blurring his vision. He didn't scream. Not that he could, because his lungs felt like a vacuum had been shoved into his ribs, sucking out the air. He heard someone else scream. A high, primal, guttural yell that seemingly came from nowhere. Had Michael heard them after all? Had he come to save the day? Jack saw a burning image of fiery hair leap over him, as well as the final cries of several spiders. He felt tired. So, so tired. Not now, he thought.1154Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpp4T0tkZ0b
"AIDEN!" Izzy screamed. "MICHAEL! CHARLOTTE! SOMEONE. HELP!" She broke the wall, enough for them all to fit inside, though cramped. Jack pulled out his sword, sticking it in the ground and trying to push himself up, but collapsed back onto the stone. He couldn't tell where Izzy was, but felt unfamiliar arms pull him into the makeshift hideout.
"Oh, Gods, you're so pale." Izzy's voice met his ears. "You're leg - well, maybe I shouldn't tell you."
"Iss fine," Jack breathed. He tried to say more, but the words couldn't leave his throat. The blur of Ami's fiery hair swiftly crossed his vision again, and suddenly they were engulfed in darkness. Ami put a torch down and exhaled.
"Jack? Hey, you're gonna be okay, alright? We...we're gonna find a way out of here. We're gonna mine until we find Michael, he'll know what to do. Jack? Jack! I'm sorry - this was my stupid idea, I should never have..." He heard her choke. Her face turned away. He could barely register any of her features. She grew quieter and quieter.
Jack wanted, more than anything, to spring up and cheer "I'm okay, hooray!" and comfort her, but that reality seemed more like fantasy as the rest of the power he had drained out of him. All he could think of was her.
I'm sorry, he thought as he blacked out.
Edit: Damn, I added a lot in this chapter. I think it was well worth it, though, even if my word count is soaring higher than I've ever seen it before. Hoping to do more editing in the new year. Take care, everyone!
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