'MARTYN NO!'

I burst awake, terror filling me. What happened? What's going on? I stand, running out of my tent and-

'CUB!'

'WHAT HAPPENED?!' 

Ren turns from where he's crouched next to-

'M-Martyn.'

A nod. 

Another friend is dead.

Another one of my friends is dead on this quest. Ren starts sobbing. Tears blur my vision. Faintness... I need to sit down. Now. Or I'll collapse. 

Sobs come as I reach the ground, hands curling into fists. True's- stupid, sadist True- killed another of my friends. My close friends...

Breathe, Doc. Just breathe. My mind tells me something's missing. Someone missing.

Cub and Scar.

Scar yelled something.

Cub's name. 

Something happened to Cub too. True killed him too... where's Scar.

'SCAR?' I yell. It takes longer to stand, listening... just audible over Ren's sobs are Scar's, somewhere around, just outside the camp perimeter... I run over, breaking through the treeline.

'What happened?'

Cub's not there.

There's no blood. 

The only person there is Scar, sobbing like the world will end if he stops, staring into the distance.

'Scar?' I crouch next to him. 'What happened?'

I don't know if he even knows I'm here... I just stay there for around a minute, not knowing what to do... a hand on his shoulder. He flinches, looking over.

'D- Doc.' He shuffles away quickly. 

'Woah, woah... it's ok. I won't hurt you. I'm not True.'

'Are you working for her?' 

'No! Scar what are you TALKING ABOUT?!'

He starts crying again. I fight the urge to yell. He's not to blame. He's done nothing. But he's still asking... as though I would even consider doing anything to True.

'Scar, I'm sorry. I shouldn't shout. But what happened? Where's Cub?'

'G-gone.'

'Gone?! Did True take him? What happened?'

'Gone.'

'Scar, seriously.'

'CUB KILLED MARTYN!'

I hear Ren's sobs in the background as the rest of the world turns silent. Scar's back to crying. I don't speak. He's confused. He must be confused... what did True do to Cub? She must've taken him, or killed him. And Scar's getting confused and thinking Cub... but Cub would never even consider...

'What?!' 

Scar just curls up tighter. 

'N-no Jellie, I didn't think he'd abandon me either.' He mutters to no one. His cat's been kept safe in a makeshift cat-carrier since before the cave, sleeping with us, curled up with Scar. She's still in the camp. 'I didn't think Cub would kill Martyn and take the egg. And run away from me. And- and...'

'Scar... what are you talking about?!'

'CUB!'

'WHAT HAPPENED?!'

'I TOLD YOU! HE LEFT US! HE KILLED MARTYN AND RAN. BECAUSE TRUE TOLD HIM TO STEAL THE EGG!'

'CUB WOULDN'T DO THAT!'

'HE DID! CUB-' a sob chokes Scar's words. More and more until he lets out a wail of pain. I shuffle closer, sitting down next to him.

'It's ok.' I still don't know or believe what he's talking about. He's convinced Cub would work with True, when it's the last thing he would ever do.

'What's going on?' Ren's dull voice comes behind me, drowning in pain. 'Doc? Scar?'

'Cub's... gone. Scar thinks he killed Martyn but... I don't believe him.'

'Why don't you BELIEVE ME?!'

'BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO!' Silence. 

And then the cold truth sets in.

Cub's never been on our side. 

He's been working for True. And the moment he got what he wanted he was off to give the egg to her. He never cared about the group. Or Scar. 

Ren doesn't speak. Scar's started crying again. 

'I'm sorry. I just never... I'm sure you didn't either... Do you want a hug?' Is all I can think to say. He nods, and we hug. I don't know how long he just sits there, sobbing into my shoulder as I hug him. Martyn's dead. Cub's betrayed us. Grian's long dead. We've lost the egg. And we're stuck somewhere in the middle of an unknown continent with no way home.

'Can I... hug too?'

'Of course.' Ren joins the hug at my reply, crying too. I don't know how I'm not... some kind of sense I need to hold on for my friends as they're going through everything. It's ages later that I try to speak.

'What- what now? We need to get back the egg...'

'I don't know.' Ren mumbles. 'It's- It's all too much. I just want to stay here, dude. We... we can do something more tomorrow. Later. Not now.'

'Alright.' The longer we wait, the further Cub will get to giving the egg to True. And when True gets the egg... everything will be for nothing. I can't let Grian's death be for nothing. But I don't want to force my friends to do anything too quickly. Torn, I just sit there, comforting Scar and Ren. Tears run down my face, as much as I try to stop them and soon I'm sobbing too. All three of us just sit there and cry as the sun sets and the world turns dark.

I'm last fall asleep, and then last to wake up the next day. Ren and Scar aren't here in the hug of endless sadness and there's arguing in the camp behind me. I groan as I stand, crossing back into the camp.

'HE KILLED MARTYN!' 

'HE'S MY BEST FRIEND!'

'What's going on?' I mumble, even though I can guess the topic without much difficulty.

Cub.

'Ren wants to find and kill Cub. Doc, tell him why that's the bad idea.'

'He killed Martyn! He's going to give the egg to True now!'

'I KNOW! But he didn't want to do it! True forced him to... he... he told me it was the only way to keep us safe... she HURT him!'

'She hurt YOU too! And he's still working with her, dude. We need to stop him. Take back the egg. And then kill True.'

'I kill True.'

'Then I kill Cub.'

'We don't even know how we're going to find either of them.' I growl. 'Stop planning who's going or not going to kill who.'

'We have a map. Cub said they were waiting for us to come back the way we came. We go that way until we run into them. We've waited long enough crying. I want revenge.' Ren snatches up his lute, storming off. 

'Ren... we can't jump to rash conclusions and ideas. We need to think this through.' I grab his shoulder. He turns to face me, burning blue eyes still shining with tears. 

'I want revenge.' He repeats, forcing his way free and continuing into the forest and out of sight.

This did not want to be written