Previously on Cursed...

"You're too late... H-Herobrine. I've already... taken... my own... grrr...." I struggled to speak.

"R-ranger!! Y-your alive?!" The voice perked up. I herd the sound of my doors opening, and though a blurred vision, saw Taylor looking down at me. I stood in gasp as we looked at each other, both shocked as if we witnessed a murder.

"T-Taylor...?" I weakly said. I had a coughing fit and felt him lean down to me, feeling my back.

"Ranger stay with me!! Oh Notch above, why would you do this?!" He pulled out his cellphone. "H-hello? Jason! Nate!! Ranger overdosed and she's near death!!"

I started to loose concentration on what he said. I could hear the screams on the phone from other people, but couldn't make out words. "It's ok, just stay with me Ranger!"

Everything was going dark fast. I felt him shaking my body violently in a futile attempt to keep me awake. He even tried to slap me awake, but it did nothing as I started to loose feeling.

"Ranger!! Don't you go on me!!! Just hang in there!! I-Its gonna be o-ok!" I saw him start to cry and have difficulty breathing as he talked to me.

"Just forget it..." were the last words I remembered uttering out loud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now
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The monochrome world I was in made me depressed, completely void of color. The school walls were bare with nothing on them, no posters or signs of encouragement. I sat alone at my desk, no person in sight. I tapped my foot and held my head with my elbow on the table. I glanced to the window outside to the pouring rain.

I looked down at my reflection in the dull but still shiny desk. I was alone with no friends, no family and no one to help me. I felt a single tear drip from my left eye and land in silence.

I took a stand from my desk and walked into the empty hallways. Hallways that watched me grow up, hallways I could no longer see in person. Closed Beige lockers all symmetrical down the hallway. I went to the one that was mine; number 147 and proceed to unlocked it. Two turns right to 42, one turn left to 34, turn right until 40. I clicked it open and sighed in sorrow at what laird before me.

A bunch of hate filled scribbles on paper with red ink and a rope hung in my locker.
"No one loves you!"
"The world's better without you!"
"Why are you so weird?"
"Let's play hang man, but instead its hang Ranger!"
"Haha, looser! Go kill yourself!"

I slowly shut my locker, hearing a clang, and leaned my back on it and slid to the floor. I curled up with my knees in my face, not facing the world.
This was my life... constant teasing and hate from my peers. It's a miracle I had Taylor, Nate and Jake. Otherwise, I probably would have ended myself a long time ago.

I don't know why those kids think it's funny to watch me like this. I tried to never let it bother me... but deep down and behind a fake smile, it hurt me beyond words I can use to describe. I would tell my parents, my teachers, anyone but Taylor and friends, yet nothing was ever done about it. I just held up my façade in front of my friends to not make them worry. But behind closed doors, I would cry myself to sleep at night.

"mler ym si sihT" a voice echoed. I looked up and saw a man. He had ripped blue paints, a turquoise shirt, black boots and messy brown hair... and two white eyes.
It was Him.

"You won't win this time. Its over, I'm dead, and you can't torture me anymore."

"?ereh I ma yhw nehT ?os taht sI"
The voice was hard to hear, it sounded glitchy or corrupted and distorted. But I understood it completely.

"You're down with me. I did it, I killed myself. We're bound together by my blood I spilled to bring you to this Notch Forsaken world. Even if your not down with me, the world is better this way with me gone. I can't screw anything up, I can't be an annoyance to anyone anymore!"

There was silence for a while before I herd shallow footsteps slowly get quieter as that person walked away. I sighed regardless, even if me dying doesn't stop him, the world is better with me dead, and I won't be a burden on anyone anymore.

I'm no longer a burden
I'm no longer a bother

The world began to shake as a fissure opened up in the hallway. I glanced down, and saw the lands of Nether itself. Fire, lava, zombies, flying white squid creatures, just like as was told. His realm of chaos and destruction.

"Best not keep him waiting." I uttered as I leapt into the fissure.

"...."

".... up...."

"...wake up..."

"Ranger wake up..."

"Ranger wake up!"

Wait... a voice? I inhaled a deep breath, I felt something over my face. I also felt some pinches on my right arms and something placed on my chest. There was a subtle beep beep beep noise in the background. The air I was breathing smelled... cleaner then normal.

"Ranger wake up please!" An echoing voice called out. A familiar voice I should say. I didn't want to move, at all. I was in a lot of pain and everything was so fuzzy and warm, comfortable but still everything was a blur and I still felt sleepy.
But I'm still breathing, I'm still hearing. I can feel... to some degree. Does that mean--?

"Wait wait Taylor! I think she's getting up!" Jake's voice also echoed.
With a few flutters of my eyes and needed willpower, I opened my eyes to find me at a hospital. A hospital... the same hospital I was at months ago when I hurt my wrist. Taylor was at my left side, Jake was sitting in a chair across the small room and Nathan was leaning on the wall.

"Am... I dead?" I asked, still semi asleep.

"No... you're not." Said Nate, almost in a glee voice. Probably the happiest voice I had ever herd him in.

I managed to lift myself up, and I glanced to see Jake, Taylor and Nathan inside the small hospital room I was in. I wasn't dead, I was alive. By some miracle of the Creators, I was alive. I took off the oxygen mask on me so I could take in my surroundings better.
My friends smiled at me, Taylor almost crying, probably from happiness.
I looked at my friends in awe and turned onto my side, my back facing them.

"You should have just left me alone to die." I muttered. Taylor came over in attempts to hug me, but I grunted in pain, as well as annoyance, and He backed off.

"Ranger, why would you--"

"Don't ask me anything! I wanted to die! Was that so hard?!" I snapped before He could say anymore. I was both angry and confused. "More importantly, HOW?! You DIED in front of me!!!"

After a brief silence, my friends probably in shock from my voice, Taylor spoke up. "W-What? We died? Ranger, YOU'RE the one who ran off despite out calls! What were YOU see-"

"I saw Herobrine kill you!! You were unmoving, limp bleeding and our whole town as a blaze!! I saw my parents, your parents! Everyone was dead!"

"What are you talking about?!? You ran away from us!" Nathan yelled. "You looked like you were talking to someone and then ran."

"I've been gone for months! How did you find me!?!"

"W-Well...- Ok look, it doesn't matter for now. What's important is that your safe, and we found something out about Herobrine... you and Him, your souls are tied together. You have half his power."

"What does that mean?" I said sounding pissed off. I was breathing heavily, almost panting.

"The ladder doesn't matter." Jake spoke up. "What's the matter is if you die, He will... He will be free."

"He will be 'free?'"

Taylor cleared his throat. "It means He will return to his full power, and wreak havoc on anyone in his way. Here's his problem; if HE kills you, then he'll die also. You have to die by some other factor for him to be free, and get his power back."

I looked in awe. "That sounds hard to believe. He can't kill me because he'll die also? Why is that if someone else kills me he doesn't die? And most importantly, why has been trying to kill me if him killing me will end him?"

"Maybe... it was just your over reactive imagination?" Asked Jake, a little shy at the question.

"What that was is a heck of a lot more then just a visual cliché of my mind, Jake!!"

"You seem really cynical despite us saving your fucking life." Nate glared.

"I've had these thoughts for months. Who says I wanted to be saved? If I'm dead, I can't cause Nether anymore to anyone!"

"Ranger don't-"

"Don't what Jake?! What the Nether are YOU gonna do you coward?! You can't even do anything on your own, so don't even try!"

"You better start biting your tongue Ranger before I cut it off!" Nathan growled. "We spent months looking for you and this is our thanks!?"

"Do it. I fucking dare you to."

Jake had to hold Nate back away from me as he tried to charge towards me.
"L-look we don't have time to figure it out, question or fight!" Taylor interrupted.
"We have to get you to safety! People have been on a secret manhunt for you for the last few months, trying to find and kill you. They think killing you will stop this all."

"So you need to get me to safety..." I stared at Taylor. "You bring me to the place where it's easiest to kill me?! The doctors want to kill me! I'm surprised they didn't already while I was out!"

"How do you know th-"

"Because I herd it." I cut Jake off. "I overheard two doctors talking about it. The police want me gone, their just using the doctors as a middle man. They were gonna use the excuse of 'she was too injured' back when the cave collapsed. You've dammed me already! But you know what? I can forgive you, because I want to die."

Taylor frowned. "Ranger, you've changed, and in a bad way. What did you do during those months--"

"I highly doubt they want to kill you." Nate interrupted. "People want you dead, yes, but I don't think the docs would. I think your over active mind is at it again."

"I swear to Notch I herd them say that! Just... get out of here! Let me die in peace!"

"Ok." Nathan said as he turned to the door. Jake grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back.

I turned my back to them. Then there was a knock at the door. Glancing behind me, I saw one of the doctors came in. "Oh sorry, forgot you had visitors. Just checking vitals."

Jake, quiet and soft-spoken of all people gave a suspicious look to both Ranger and the doctor and snarled.
"Did you really?"

"Yes... what do you mean? I'm supposed to check vitals every two hours." The doctor questioned.

Jake took a peer at the doctors left hand. He studied his face quizzically. "What's behind your back?"

"What? Nothing. I have nothing behind me, I just hold my hand like this all the time."

"Then show us." Jake demanded.

"Look, you all should leave. I know your trying to help cheer your friend and all, but she needs to rest. Besides, I herd all your yelling and that's not fair to the other patients who are here to have to deal with that."

Jake looked at the doctor. He walked over to him. He seemed to 'feel' something off. "Lie. You want to kill Ranger. What's behind your back in a needle full of something to end her life. I know a lie when I see one."

The doctor stood a gape, and so did Nate and Taylor. I was surprised by what he said. Then the doctor frowned. "Some people know too much it seems."

"I know a lie when I feel one. I felt your heart race, and felt your morality saddening. I knew it. I won't let you pass." He growled, the rest of my friends stood in defense against me.

I honestly don't know why they defended me, I yelled at them and for certain thought they would leave me out of sheer hate, especially Nathan, but they stood side by side, ready to defend me.

Then another knock was herd. The doctor opened the door, we all turned, and in came Monica. "Um, pardon me doctor, I'm just visiting Ranger."

"She's not wanting visitors right now." He glared.

"We got a code red doc! Code red!" There was some shouting in the hall. "Heart stopped on patient in room 4C!"

"Oh Notch above!" The doctor sprinted out of the room, shouting some kind of nonsense. While he was sprinting, he dropped the needle, full of a slightly green liquid. Jake picked it up to examine it.

"Knew it. This is the same stuff you had in your system Ranger when we found you. Cryolix. Used as a pain killer in small doses, but too much makes the brain slow down so much it stops signals to the respiratory system, making it shut down."

"S-so they..." Taylor shuddered and looked at me.

"See?" I glared. "Just leave me."

Monica gave an annoyed grunt and came over to me. "Look, we don't have time to fight. We need to get you out of here and far away! I know your depressed Ranger, and you think everyone hates you, but trust me when I say if you die, you'll kill all of us, in more ways then one. We care about you, we love you, no matter what you think, do, or say. We couldn't live without you and your personality... now come on, please let us help you. Things will get better."

The words hurt... They hurt my very soul. To think someone at all wants me alive. After what I just said no less. After all the stuff I've caused over the last few months. I frowned almost wanting you cry. I really struggled with myself on this one. I know my friends love me, but that's 4 people out of the millions in the world who want me dead.

And yet, I know friends wouldn't lie. If they knew I was in writhing, incurable physical pain, they would understand killing me would be the best thing they could do. But I'm not in pain, it's my mind wanting to die. It's the words of some people I don't know. I'm not sick or injured, aside from my wrist scar, and they're trying to keep me alive because they know its not me talking; it's my fragile mental state that is still shattered by the few months I was away from them and thinking they died.

They're trying to save me because they know Ranger isn't talking, but because other people are talking, using my shattered mental state to say lies to them.

"Alright. Someone help me get this IV out of my arm. But bigger issue here; how are we going to escape with all the doctors out there?"

"Good point... umm..." Taylor looked to the window. "Too high up to break out of here. The doctors won't let us walk out without Resistance..."

"Oh for the love of whatever you believe in, our only option is brute force our way out!!" Nate yelled, in a stance ready to fight. "You all with me? We either get out, or die trying."

"I'll take that second option." I said without meaning to. "Wait, no, fuck. I didn't mean--"

"Shut up, Ranger!" Taylor yelled.

I felt Jake remove the drip and bandage the small blood wound. I got off the bed, stumbling a little as I'm a bit dizzy, and looked to the door. Monica went in front next to the door
"Here's the plan..."

"There's an emergency fire exit at the end of the hallway. Its locked unless the fire alarms go off. Coincidently, there's a fire leaver on the wall near it. We pull it, the alarm sounds and we race out of here. Behind the building, under the fence, and get to my truck. Jason should be there waiting to floor it. Got it?"

"Got it." We all replied.

"Alright... on 3 we run. OK, 1... 2... 3!"