IT DON'T LOOK LIKE SURVIVAL

===

Except he wasn't. Or was he?

He was ascending. Was this Heaven?

There was a sensation of what felt like rebirth. Suddenly, water wasn't the only thing he could feel. He could breathe again, and so he did.

Although, it didn't feel like breathing. It felt like he was drowning all over again as he spluttered and choked, weakly trying to expel the water from his burning throat. The pressure around his waist wasn't helping at all - it was too tight against his chest for him to get a proper breath, but he couldn't fight it.

Solid ground, stairs up, found their way underneath him, and with every ounce of his remaining strength, he scrambled onto dry land, heaving and panting as his hands scraped against the concrete. Whatever was dragging him hauled him up, enough for him to get at least his torso settled onto solid ground. Exhausted and overwhelmed, his strength gave out, and he simply laid there, focusing on his rapid breathing and his blurry vision.

His surroundings started to come into view. Ahead, near the corner of the pool, a foldable knife laid - Herobrine's knife, untouched. He couldn't focus on it for too long, for a figure collapsed onto her knees directly in front of him, doubled over, and vomited into the pool, shaking just as much as he was. She was whimpering, her body curled into itself as she reached up, dragging fingers through her hair as she gasped for breath, clutching at her chest as panic overwhelmed her.

This wasn't real.

This couldn't be happening again. She had already gone through this once, why would it happen again? She was safe-

If she was safe, why was she wet?

Why could she swear she felt hands on her neck, her head, her arms, grabbing her and pinning her down under the water?

She wasn't safe when she was wet, not after being submerged for as long as she had been, not while the panic of being underwater merged with what had just happened mere seconds ago with Shein. Seeing Erebus trapped below the surface, undergoing the same horrible sensation of drowning that she, too, had gone through - it was unbearable for her.

Fuck, had she even saved him? Had her indecision taken too long? Was he even still alive? Had she failed to protect him, just like she failed at everything else? Why was she still wet? Was she safe? She needed the water off of her skin, why wasn't it coming off? She needed it off, needed it off, needed it off, get it off, get it off-

Pain seared through her forearms as she clawed at the water on her skin, sinking further and further into her mind, like she was drowning there too, because she wasn't safe, she was never fucking safe, and she had possibly just lost the only person who ever made her feel anything remotely close to safety, because God forbid she could have anything good in her life-

Was it because she felt more comfortable in a woman's body than a man's? Was it because she felt attraction, love, for a man, the same as she had been born? Was it because of the way she acted, because she lashed out at those that hurt her instead of turning the other cheek, instead of loving her neighbors as herself?

Or had God simply just deemed her unworthy of happiness from the moment He chose to create her?

A frightened yelp escaped her at the feeling of sudden warmth against her, pulling at her, as if desperate for her closeness despite the fact that she didn't deserve it. She tried to move away, the new sensation simply adding something else for her to get overwhelmed by, but it clung to her - he clung to her, pulling her toward him like he would die if he let go.

He was alive.

Fuck, he was alive. He was alive, he was here, he was safe.

With a sob strangled in her throat, Angel dove into his arms, gripping onto him tightly and burying her face in his sopping shoulder. He yelped at the feeling of her gripping so tightly onto him, but she could only loosen her hold by a little bit, too overwhelmed to think straight. Their bodies shook in tandem, Angel's with emotion and Erebus's with recovery, and she let the warmth of his trembling body spread over her, not quite calming her down immediately but giving her hope that she would be able to, allowing her to believe that she was deserving of doing so.

If she wasn't good enough, then he wouldn't be here, would he?

She saved him. She saved him. She was a good person.

"You're here..." Erebus's hoarse voice whispered in her ear, a combination of disbelief and affirmation pulling more tears to Angel's eyes.

She nodded, sniffling as she tried in vain to keep her own voice steady. "I'm- I'm here, Erebus... I'm never- never going to leave again..."

Their arms tightened the embrace just a little more, each thinking the same thing that the other was - that something, someone, was going to pull them away from each other, to wrench them apart like Hunter's arrow had back in Minecraft. They held their breath as if it would be the last one they could experience together, frozen in time and in terror as they clung to the only support that they had.

Nothing happened. There was no arrow, no feeling of being torn apart, no agonizing loss. They were together, they could be safe together, and that realization helped Angel's breathing to even out and her heart rate to slow. She was still scared, of course, but the fact that Erebus was with her, holding her, loving her, gave her hope that she could be okay again.

"You..." Erebus pulled back, almost suddenly, as if he had realized something. He placed a hand on her shoulder, staring at her with wide eyes. "You're here- why are you here?"

His face, with hair plastered to the sides from being underwater, was panic-stricken, which in turn caused a sudden rush of anxiety to well up inside Angel, rendering her unable to speak. Why was he scared? Was he scared of her? What did he mean, why was she here? Was she not supposed to be here? Did she do something wrong again? Why did she always end up doing the wrong thing?

"Angel-"

He pulled her into his arms again and away from the buzzing questions that pierced her with doubt, and she rested her head on his chest, listening to the beating of his heart. A choked sob escaped her at the feeling of his soft embrace and the faint pressure of his head resting on top of hers.

"Are you mad at me...?"

The whispered question took Erebus aback, but a part of him understood why Angel would ask this. "No," he murmured, coughing slightly as he spoke - his throat and chest still burned from his near-drowning. "I just... I don't understand why you saved me."

Angel tilted her head up, sniffling as she tried to steady her voice. "I-I couldn't let you drown..." she told him, her voice trembling as the words she spoke circulated her emotions even quicker within her. "I didn't have a choice."

"You did," Erebus said, looking down at her solemnly. "You- Angel, you chose me over your family..." He gently placed a hand on the side of her face, making sure to be slow and cautious so as to not startle her. "I just want you to be happy, Angel."

"But I am..." There was a desperation as Angel spoke now, a plea for Erebus to understand. "I am happy with you... you're my- you're my safe space, Erebus, I need you..."

Her shoulders shook as she clung on tightly to Erebus, his face blurry in her vision that was obstructed by tears.

"But Tom- Clara, Angel, he's coming for them-"

"Erebus." Angel's voice rose slightly as she tried her best to steady herself. "I don't care about that... I came for you. I wanted to come for you, because I love you. Clara- they're going to be fine. Everything's going to be fine-" She began to pull herself away from his embrace. "But we should probably find them... can you stand?"

Erebus winced as he started to rise to his feet. "I think so, but I'm not steady..."

"That's okay, here-"

Angel let him wrap an arm around her lower back, allowing his trembling body, still sore from his previous torture and drowning, to lean against her. "I've got you," she murmured, looking up at him. "It's a bit of a walk home from here, but not too far-"

"I'm alright," Erebus said firmly. "Let's just go."

With moderate difficulty, the two began to walk home as quickly as they could - it was a painfully slow pace for Angel, but she knew that Erebus was trying his best. Every step they took only worsened Angel's paranoia, and the mere thought of what she would possibly find when they got home made her sick to her stomach. What if Clara and Tom were already dead, thanks to her decision to save Erebus over them?

At least she had him, right?

As the house came into view, Erebus moved away from Angel's support, stumbling forward and dashing as best as he could toward the house. "Tom!" he shouted, ignoring the searing pain that rose in his throat with every word he spoke.

"Clara!" Angel shouted, running past Erebus up to the front door and flinging it open. There she stood in the living room, unscathed, much to Angel's relief - the stern look on Clara's face quickly faded to concern.

"Angel, dear, what happened?" she asked, stepping forward and gently cupping her face in her hands. "Oh my goodness, you're soaked, where have you been- Tom and I have been worried sick-"

"We fucked up," Angel muttered, grabbing Clara's wrists. "You- You gotta call the Feynmans, tell them they're in trouble- lock all the doors and get somewhere safe-"

"What's going on?" Clara's worried gaze turned to Erebus, who was panting heavily and leaning against the wall, winded from his brief spurt of energy. "What happened to you? Are you in danger?"

Erebus nodded frantically behind Angel, who was struggling to get her words together. "We're fucked, Clara- Officer Shein isn't an officer, and I made this deal with this guy, but it went wrong, and he tried to kill Erebus, but now he's trying to kill you, and he wants Mr. Feynman's digitizer to kill more people-"

"Dear, slow down," Clara murmured, though it was clear that she, too, was starting to grow worried. "It's going to be okay, you can explain later, but tell me what you need me to do."

Angel exhaled slowly. "Call the Feynmans," she said. "Tell Richard to bring the digitizer to keep it safe. We need to find Tom and tell him everything, and-"

"Angel, get down!"

A body rammed into Angel's, wrenching her away from her aunt and tackling her to the ground. At the same time, a deafening bang sounded from outside, causing her to shriek in alarm as several more followed - the front window shattered, raining shards of glass on all those nearby. All three bodies hit the ground hard, Erebus's on top of Angel's in order to shield her from harm.

Raising his head slightly, Erebus was able to see an unmistakable figure dashing off into the shadows and out of sight. Shein - Herobrine - was holding an unfamiliar, dark object in his hand; likely the weapon that he had used to shatter the window. What was it for? Why had it been so loud?

"Clara!"

Erebus's heart stopped. This wasn't just a shout of concern - no, this was a scream, one that rent through the air with unbridled terror. Angel scrambled out from underneath him, reaching out and grabbing her aunt's arm, her eyes wide. She shook her frantically, but there was no response.

"What happened to her?!"

As soon as the question left Erebus, the sickening answer was revealed to him in a shade of crimson that he was far too familiar with, spilling from a gaping wound in Clara's head. Her eyes were lifeless, staring forward without seeing, no matter how hard Angel shook her, shouting her name for a response that she would never receive.

The icy hand of realization gripped at Erebus's throat, choking a cry of horror as the bitter truth descended on him.

Clara was dead, and it was because of him.